Moving On
by Chelsee6
Summary: Set when Abi is living with Hugh, she finds out he really did kidnap her and he is pushed over the edge. What will he do? is Sam safe? PhilSam story, hope you like it. FINISHED. Sorry-there are mentions of a sequel but it will not actually be posted.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Ok, hi, I'm a new writer and this is my first fanfic so please be nice. It's a Sam/Phil thing and it's written from just after Abi was found. She is now living with Hugh Wallace and Sam is driving herself crazy. I hope you don't mind but I'm gonna kinda ignore the fact that Abi is pregnant in the show because that's just mean. So in this version- she doesn't have a baby. And- as an after thought- Ken Marylin and Andrea are still alive and Debbie didn't quit.

Hope you enjoy, Chelsea

Prologue:

Phil was worried about Sam, true she was kinda a pain -but she was still a colleague, and now a friend. A while ago they had hated each other's guts, but since then Sam had saved Phil's life and his job - and Phil had helped Sam through the abduction of her daughter. They had found Abi just in the nick of time and since then Sam and Phil had been ok with each other. Well, at least they weren't continually fighting. This was more to do with Phil than Sam, she had changed him so much, he had used to be such a womanising jerk- even Phil admitted it. Now he was nice, even sincere sometimes and it was all because of Sam.

When they had been stuck in the tunnels with Weaver after them Sam had let loose a few home truths that made Phil realise how other people saw him. Not as the suave copper/ladies man as he had thought, but a womanising git who couldn't face up to his own mistakes.

Sam realised he had changed, when he helped her through the loss of her daughter, Phil hadn't wanted to admit it to himself but he was in love with Sam. And it wasn't just a passing thing either, this was the real deal. He tried so hard to put it in the back of his mind, forget about it. But he couldn't.

Ever since Abi had gone to live with Hugh Sam had been unreachable. Sure she talked to you, answered questions and the like. But it was like she was still on a completely different planet. She never smiled anymore and she didn't get the buzz that came from putting away a criminal, she was just - empty. Anyone could see that but she kept on maintaining that she was fine. Phil didn't know for sure, but he had the distinct impression that Sam had been skipping meals, working way too late and occasionally even sleeping at the office. She was in earlier than him and was still there when he left. That and the fact that she had pinched one of the spare lockers in the WPC locker room to keep a change of clothes in. Phil had been so worried about Abi that when he had bumped into her at the shops he had given her his card with his home number, mobile number and address written on the back.

Chapter 1

Phil had just put Maddie to bed on Sunday night when he heard a loud banging noise at his front door. Wondering who the hell it could be at a time like this Phil hurried down the stairs pulling his dressing gown tight around him.

"Oh God, I'm sorry, did I wake you? It's just…I had no where else to go" a drenched, tearful Abi sobbed when he opened his front door.

"Hey, It's ok, I said any time and I meant it, come on in" Phil said. Ushering the sobbing girl into the warmth, then going outside in the rain to pay the taxi. The driver gave him half price because of the state Abi had been in.

When Phil came inside he went upstairs and got Abi some dry clothes to put on.

"These are Mum's," she said confused.

"Yeah she err…left them here after Christmas" Phil admitted slightly embarrassed. He hadn't returned them to Sam yet because he wanted something to remind him of her. He knew that she wouldn't want anything to do with him, not in the way he did. To her he was only a work colleague, but he could still dream.

"Oh, are you two seeing each other then?" Abi asked disappointed. She had come to Phil after Hugh's betrayal because she thought he cared about her, but he was obviously just like Hugh, only interested in her Mum.

"No, it's nothing like that. She was just miserable when she found out you were staying with Hugh for Christmas…I wanted to cheer her up a bit, you know" Phil told her.

Abi grimaced "But you want it to be something like that don't you?" she said wryly.

"No…no-I erm…yes" Phil admitted staring at the floor. There was an awkward silence, then Abi got up, "I shouldn't have come here," she said heading for the door.

"Abi, wait. You're here now, you may as well tell me what's wrong…I don't mind you staying here. To tell you the truth I could probably use the company"

"No I –you just offered to let me come here because you thought it'd earn you bonus points with Mum" Abi accused. _Not that you need bloody bonus points,_ she thought savagely.

"No, I –is that what you think?" Phil asked hurt, "Abi, I offered to let you stay here because I wanted to. I was concerned about _you!_" Phil said indignantly. He continued in a quieted voice "And let's be honest, I don't really have a shot with her anyway, no matter what I do."

Abi was amazed, Phil had no idea how her Mum felt about him. He wasn't doing this for Sam, he was doing this for _her. _

"Now come on, go and get those on and I'll make you a hot chocolate" Phil said with a smile seeing she was coming around.

"Ok" Abi agreed and headed down the hall to the bathroom.

When she came back Phil was listening to the radio with two hot chocolates on the coffee table in front of him. The radio was playing a new song she had heard a couple of times but she didn't know who it was by.

_I can't explain the way I feel_

_Your lips those eyes_

_You got me running _

_Around and round and round and round you go. _

_Ain't nobody like you in the whole wide world_

_Round and round and round you go _

_Guess that I'm a sucker for a run around girl._

_Blow hot_

_Blow cold_

_You sell_

_I'm sold_

_Silly games_

_You play_

_Your rules _

_Your way_

_Your lips _

_Those eyes you got me running _

_Around and round and round and round you go_

_Ain't nobody like you in the whole wide world_

Abi smiled, the song described Phil to a tee. "Are you?' she asked cheekily.

Phil smiled and quoted the next line of the song, "You know that I'm a sucker for a run around girl."

Abi laughed, "That's for sure".

Phil smiled and indicated the seat next to him. It was nice to see Abi was laughing now instead of crying, but he still didn't know what was wrong.

"So you gonna tell me why you were crying? Or do I have to guess?" he asked.

"You have to guess" Abi said grimacing. She was remembering why she was here. "No- I found this videotape in Hugh's study. It proves that he was the one who kidnapped me in the first place and not that other guy," Abi said tearfully.

Phil pulled her close and whispered nonsense into her ear until she fell asleep. Then he carried her upstairs and put her in the bottom bunk of Maddie's bunk bed and he returned to bed. They could talk in the morning.

Then next morning Abi was woken up by Maddie, she wanted to know who she was. They went downstairs for breakfast and Phil asked Abi "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know, I don't want to go back to Mum, but I don't want him to get away with it either."

"Well, if you come down the station today then you can make a statement and we can arrest him, and you can stay here while you work things out with your mum." Phil offered.

"Thanks" Abi smiled "But if it's all the same to you, can I make my statement tomorrow? I don't think I'm up to it today. Hugh's at a conference in Cambridge, so he won't notice I'm missing"

"Sure, I think I can keep a secret for that long."

"Thanks."

Phil left for work twenty minutes later after telling Abi she was earning her keep by looking after Maddie for the day. It was Sam's day off that day, so he didn't have to worry about her knowing that something was up.

The next morning Abi and Phil drove down to the station in silence after dropping Maddie off at Kindy. Abi was worried about making the statement, but she was looking forward to seeing her Mum. The night before she and Phil had had a long talk about why Abi didn't want to go back to her Mum. He had made her realise that the reason she and her Mum didn't get on was because Abi wasn't putting any effort in to the relationship, they don't work if only one person is making an effort. She had agreed that she would go back and live with her mum for a while and see what happened, Phil's offer was always there if she needed it.

Phil was dreading the talk he had to have with the Super before the interview. He had withheld evidence for two days and they had been banned from looking into the Baxter case because of the fuss Sam had caused. They pulled into the car park and Phil took Abi around through the front area, there was less chance of running into Sam that way. Ken looked puzzled as Phil steered Abi towards the soft interview room, one arm around her shoulders. He caught up to Phil after he had sat Abi down in there and told her to wait a little while.

"Hey, wasn't that DS Nixon's daughter?" he asked.

"Yes, but keep it down ok" Phil said in a hushed voice. "Look, I'll explain everything later, just-don't say anything to Sam yet. Please" Phil said pleadingly.

"Ok, but you'd better tell me what's up afterwards," Ken warned. Since when did Phil ever say please?

"I will mate, thanks" Phil said slapping Ken on the back and then running off in the direction of the Super's office.

When he got there he could hear voices from inside, one's was Jack's and the other was Neil's. Cautiously he knocked on the door. "Come in" Adam called. Phil entered and shut the door behind him to prevent Jack and Neil leaving, they should probably hear this too.

"Sir, it's about the Baxter case," Phil said in answer to Adam's questioning look.

"How many times do I have to tell you _DS _Hunter, the Baxter case is not our problem anymore and you are forbidden to investigate it." Adam said severely.

"I know Sir, but to be fair I wasn't actually investigating it Sir, but I have come up with new evidence that proves that Peter Baxter is innocent Sir. Not only that, but it proves what Sam has been saying all along, it was Hugh Wallace that did it, not Peter Baxter." Phil informed him.

"What evidence?" Adam asked sighing.

"Well for starters, this video tape- it shows Sam and Hugh arguing over where Abi is, just like she said. Also, Abi is prepared to give a statement saying that she found this in Hugh Wallace's study" Phil told them.

"Neil, I think Sam deserves a week off to sort things out with her daughter don't you?" Adam asked.

"Yes sir" Neil said begrudgingly.

"And can you please send Suzie Sim here?" Adam added as Neil left. "Jack, can you get onto the CPS and tell them that there may be some developments in the Baxter case." He instructed. Jack nodded and left. Suzie arrived a few minutes later and Adam explained what was happening. She and Phil went to the soft interview room to take Abi's statement.

"I have to admit, I'm impressed" Suzie said on their way.

"Why?" Phil asked.

"I didn't think you had a compassionate side" she replied.

"Thanks, I think" Phil answered.

After the interview, Phil was just about to take Abi down to CID to see Sam when Jack poked his head in the door, "Phil can I have a word please?" he asked. Phil came outside and shut the door behind him, "What is it Jack?" he asked concerned.

"Sam hasn't come into work today, she hasn't called in sick either and Terry rang up the conference Hugh was supposed to be at and apparently he left early." Jack told him gravely.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Phil stood there reeling with shock, this couldn't be happening. Oh God why hadn't he insisted that Abi make her statement yesterday, then Sam's life might not be in danger now. Phil forced himself to tune into what Jack was saying. "We've circulated the description of Hugh's car and his index number and I've sent some officers round to Hugh's and Sam's house just in case she slept in or Hugh's at his house wondering where Abi is, though I don't think that's the case."

"Ok, I'll tell Abi and take her back to mine, at least she'll be safe there" Phil said with a heavy sigh. He entered the interview room again and closed the door.

"It's mum isn't it?" Abi asked as soon as she saw his face.

"Yeah, apparently Hugh left the conference early and now your Mum hasn't shown up for work yet. It's still early, maybe she's just running late. Even still we've sent some officers round her house and Hugh's to check it out." Phil replied sitting down. He didn't trust himself to stand because he felt his knees might give way any moment.

"Oh God, this is my fault, if I had made my statement earlier she would still be fine, and here with me. God I miss her so much" Abi said in a choked up voice.

"No, no, this isn't your fault, there is no way you could have known this would happen." Phil assured the distressed girl, moving over to sit beside her and wrap his arm around her shoulders. "Come on, you're coming back to my place and you're going to sit in front of the telly while I get out there and find your mum. Ok?" He said softly. Abi nodded and he helped her up. He grabbed two of her bags and she grabbed the other and they left together going through the back way to the carpark. When they arrived at Phil's he let her in and reassured her that everything would be alright then he left and headed back to the station to see if her could help in finding Sam.

Jack informed him that they had uncovered nothing out of the ordinary at Sam's, not that they knew what ordinary was, Phil took Abi round to Sam's later and she said that some of her mother's clothes were missing. That was odd, he started to think she might have gone off somewhere, but Abi assured him that it probably wasn't her mum who picked them because whoever it was had left her favourite track pants behind. They had found signs of hasty packing at Hugh's so it wasn't likely that they would return there or to Sam's but they had left officers there just in case. They still hadn't found Hugh's car but people were out there looking for it and they were sure to get something soon. Just at that moment a report came through the radio saying that they had found the car and they were fencing it off could someone please send down a forensic team. Phil and Jack ran out to the car park and got into Phil's car heading over to where the car was reported to be. Phil drove like a mad man and Jack was glad that he had his seatbelt on but by the end of the ride he felt a bit queasy.

It was maddening pacing around the car while forensics collected evidence but it was necessary. Phil went with the forensic team to the lab so he could pester them to hurry up, so that he could get the news to Jack quickly.

"Is it almost done?" he asked the lab assistant for the twentieth time.

"No, sorry sir, just a little while longer" he said apologetically.

"God, what's taking so long?" Phil asked angrily. The assistant stepped back a bit, he had had customers like this before and they could get nasty. Phil sighed, "I'm sorry, I'm just a bit frustrated, you are aware that we're looking for a missing police officer aren't you?"

"Yes, erm- were you friends with the officer then?" the assistant asked.

"You could say that" Phil answered with a wry smile.

"We, got 'em" the forensic scientist said coming into the room.

"Thank God, it's about time. So what do they say then?

"Well we analysed the hair you gave us (Phil had dropped by Sam's house and picked up her hairbrush) against the hair in the boot of the car and it's a definite match. We also analysed the blood-"

"Blood, what blood?" Phil asked panicking.

"The blood that was in the boot, there wasn't much don't worry- anyway, we analysed the blood against the DNA from the hair and the DNA from Hugh's file and we came up with a match for a bit of both. At a guess I'd say DS Nixon has a small head injury from a blow to the side of her head, it's not bleeding badly but it should be seen to. And I think that Dr. Wallace would have a blood nose or something similar by the blood spatter. Neither of them is critically hurt, but I'd say that DS Nixon is most probably unconscious."

Phil took all of this in as best as he could and then thanked the man and went outside to call Jack and let him know the bad news.

Not many of the officers at Sunhill knew what was going on at that point, Honey and Tony were standing by at Hugh Wallace's house but they didn't know why. All they knew was they were standing guard at a house and they were to arrest anyone who tried to enter. Amber and Leela were standing by at Sam's house, they had been specifically chosen because they were new to the station and they didn't know that it was her house. As far as they were concerned it was just some house that had some sort of interest to CID.

"I wish they'd tell us what was going on, this is stupid not knowing. How are we supposed to know who to arrest if they do come?" Amber complained.

"I know, it is all a bit hush-hush isn't it?" Leela mused, "I wonder what's going on."

At that moment June and Yvonne rounded he corner, "Hi, we're here to take over your shift" June said smiling.

"Ok, great. Do you know what's going on?" Amber asked enthusiastically.

"Yes, but sorry, we're not allowed to tell you, we were briefed separately, there's going to be an entire station briefing when you get back, so if I were you, I'd hurry" Yvonne answered laughing at Amber's pout.

"That's so not fair" she complained but she and Leela hurried back to the station anyway.

Meanwhile, Tony and Honey were waiting outside Hugh's house wondering what was going on.

"Do you think it's a missing person? Remember we had to wait outside Cathy's when Brandon's kids went missing." Honey suggested.

Tony chuckled, "Maybe, you should advise them to look in the boiler room back at Sunhill."

"That's not funny Tony, who knows what those poor kids went through" Honey said reproachfully.

"Ok, I'm sorry. So, who do you think is the kidnapper this time?" Tony asked curiously.

"That's the problem, I don't know. Oh, do you think this is Gabriel's house?"

"Gabriel?' Tony chuckled, "What makes you think that?"

"Well come on, you've seen what he's like. June doesn't trust him, Jim doesn't, DI Morrell doesn't, Kerry didn't, Andrea doesn't, Smithy doesn't, Inspector Gold doesn't, DCI Meadows doesn't, and even the Super doesn't. Neither do I as a matter of fact."

"I don't either, but that doesn't mean he's going to kidnap someone so we have an excuse to throw him in gaol. That would be way too convenient." Tony said exasperatedly.

"I guess so" Honey sighed. "But then who is it?"

"Who's what?" asked Sheelagh as she and Smithy got out of the panda car.

"Who's-" Honey started but was interrupted by Tony.

"Never mind, what are you two doing here?" he asked curiously.

"We came to relieve you, you'd better hurry back to the station, there's a briefing you definitely won't want to miss" Smithy said handing the keys to Tony.

"An interesting briefing, that's a first." He remarked

"Ok, well we'll see you later" Honey said waving goodbye and she got into the passenger seat and they drove off.

Phil and Jack were waiting in the briefing room for everyone to file in. No one else had much of a clue as to what was going on. Neil, Adam and Terry knew that Sam was missing, presumed kidnapped by Hugh Wallace but they didn't know if anything had been confirmed yet. Everyone one else was completely in the dark.

Once everyone was settled Jack walked up the front, he waited till everyone was quiet then began.

"Some of you already know why we're here but most of you don't. This morning we received some new evidence in the Baxter case that proves Peter Baxter's innocence. The real perpetrator is Hugh Wallace." At this there was a collective gasp.

"So Sam was right all along" Tony muttered in Honey's ear.

"Yes Tony" Jack said, having heard Tony's comment. He waited a moment while the crowd settled then continued. "And now she's missing. DS Nixon was last seen at eight o'clock yesterday morning by her neighbour, apparently she went to Victoria Park and never returned. Hugh Wallace was at a conference but he left early and we now have evidence to suggest that he has abducted Sam. An hour ago we found his car abandoned on Sterling Street near a run down pub and a few derelict houses. There were traces of Sam's hair and blood and traces of Hugh Wallace's blood too. Now I want PC's Hunter, Kent, Hemmingway, Harman and Stamp to conduct a door to door search near where the car was found. After that around Sam's house, DS Hunter will also give you a list of streets that is apparently the route Sam takes to work, I want you to do door to door at the traffic lights and anywhere else she might have stopped, as well as Victoria Park. DC Masters and DC Perkins, I want you to go and interview Abi, see if you can find out about any mutual friends of Sam and Hugh's, anyone who might have known them both when they were dating. Then go round and talk to them see what they have to say, see if they know where Hugh and Sam went on dates etc. and see if they know where Hugh might go in a crisis. DC Sim and DC Best, I want you to go over to Hugh's practice and talk to his colleagues, see if they know anything. Ok get going people, I hardly need add that Hugh can get violent and we don't know how much time Sam has left." Jack concluded and left. Suddenly there was an out break of noise as everyone went off to do what they had been assigned, everyone was talking at once an Jack couldn't hear what they were saying but he had a pretty good idea.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Back in CID, Phil was staring blankly at the map in the wall, there were highlighted area's where people were doing door to door searches. Numbers over the top indicated the report from already completed searches. No one had seen anything suspicious where the car was dumped, no one had seen anything at any of the traffic lights en route to Sam's. One old woman had seen a man fitting Hugh Wallace's description closing the boot of his car near Victoria Park at about nine thirty that morning. Forensics had searched the scene and had concluded it was definitely the place where Sam had been abducted. Adam released a press statement asking for any information on Sam or Hugh's whereabouts.

At seven o'clock that evening Phil was still sitting the CID office, staring at the map.

"Phil, I think it's time to go home don't you? Get a good night's sleep so you can be fresh in the morning" Jack suggested. Phil shushed him by holding his hand up in the air. He got up and marked Sam's house on the map, then Hugh's, then the shipping container yard where Abi had been found and finally Peter Baxter's flat.

"Hugh's a geographical profiler so he won't go just anywhere, has anyone searched Baxter's flat or the container yard?" he asked.

Jack was silent for a moment, "Phil, that's a stroke of genius, no, no one has looked there yet. I'll get someone over there right now" Jack said excitedly. Phil was very surprising today, first he had come in after having convinced Abi to give a statement, and everyone knew she wasn't the easiest of teenagers to get along with, now he was coming up with good ideas about where Hugh might be.

Jack went down to CAD and told Dean to get some one over to Baxter's and down to the shipping yard.

"Roger that, on way" Tony answered, he and Yvonne headed over to Baxter's while Honey and Steve headed over to the shipping yard.

"It's going to take forever to search this place" Steve complained.

"Yeah, how about we just search around the edge and see if there's away they could have gotten in first. They did patch up the hole he used last time didn't they?" Honey asked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure they did." Steve answered. They circled the perimeter and didn't find anything so they went over to the night guards hut and asked him if anyone had come in during the day.

"Nah, no one since the night before last, from either side" he answered.

"Either side?" Steve asked.

"He means no containers have come in from either this gate or the wharf, numbskull" Honey answered. "Have any gone out?" she asked.

"Not today Honey" the old man answered kindly.

"How do you know my name?" Honey asked confused.

"He means it as a nick name, like muffin, or pumpkin, numbskull" Steve answered. Honey made a face at him and they thanked the guard and left, Honey reporting their lack of- anything- to Jack, while Steve drove.

"Never mind, Maybe Tony and Yvonne will have more luck" Jack sighed.

Tony and Yvonne were walking briskly along the road to Baxter's flat, "Do you think we'll find anything?" Yvonne asked.

"Nah, not really. The DCI's probably grabbing at straws" Tony answered.

"Gee, you're optimistic aren't you" Yvonne remarked sarcastically.

"Well come on, who would be stupid enough to hide in such an obvious place?"

"Took us long enough to think of it."

"Yeah well…"

They shut up at this point because they heard a noise. As they approached the house they saw a silhouetted figure running away, Tony chased after it but soon gave up, he could barely see anything anyway.

"Didn't look like Hugh anyway, too skinny" Tony remarked when he got back to Yvonne. They separated and went around the house on opposite sides, looking for an entrance.

Tony heard a train whistle and jumped, _pull yourself together man, it's only a train_, he thought. Round the back they found and open door and they let themselves in quietly. Tony took the down stairs while Yvonne went upstairs. The first room he looked in, he thought he saw someone asleep on the couch but on closer inspection it was only a blanket. _ That's odd, Sam said that Baxter was very particular, likes everything neat and tidy_ Tony thought to himself remembering when Sam had been thinking that Baxter might be the serial rapist. He went into the kitchen and found an open tin of soup and a dirty saucepan on the stove he left it where it was for forensics and continued to the next room. It was a laundry and there was nothing odd in there so he headed up the stairs to see how Yvonne was doing. He saw her walk in to a room on the left, near the end of the corridor and followed her in there.

"Look, it's still wet" Yvonne commented in a whisper pointing to the bath, you could see the moonlight that was coming in through the window shining on the droplets of water. Tony told Yvonne what he had seen down stairs and they both agreed that it looked like someone had been living there.

"One room to go" Yvonne whispered and indicated the door at the end of the passage, "Master bedroom I'm guessing." Tony nodded. It was locked-and there was no key. Yvonne went back into the bathroom to try the adjoining door there, no luck. Tony put his shoulder against the door and shoved. The door gave way after a moment and he burst into the room. At first it appeared as thought there was a dark blanket strewn messily across the bed but the illusion was shattered when Tony flicked the light switch. "Holy Christ" he exclaimed.

"Tony, what is it?" Yvonne asked stepping back hurriedly to avoid Tony who had instinctively taken a step back. Tony couldn't find the words to explain it so he stepped back more to allow Yvonne to see what was in the room.

Yvonne gasped, the blanket was strewn messily across the bed it was ripped badly, almost to shreds, but the most disturbing thing was the reason the blanket was dark instead of cream, it was stained with blood!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Sir?" Tony's voice crackled through the radio.

"Yes, what is it?" Jack asked urgently, he and Phil were both on the edges of their seats waiting for Tony to tell them what he had.

"Hugh's definitely been here, he's gone now but he was here recently."

"That's great, we'll be right there" Jack said and he and Phil hurried off to the carpark while Dean called a forensic team. They were closing in now and they would soon have him.

"Why didn't you tell them?" Yvonne asked indignantly.

"You really think that's the sort of thing you want to broadcast into a room when you don't know who's listening." Tony answered back they both went down stairs and waited in the hall.

Jack and Phil arrived a few minutes later and Tony and Yvonne were swept aside as they conducted their own search of the house. Phil only had a cursory glance around the bottom floor of the house, he looked like he was looking for something particular. He headed up the stairs ignoring Tony's advice, "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?" Jack asked curiously.

"Spit it out" he demanded.

"Sam's dead, there's blood everywhere up there." Yvonne answered seeing Tony wouldn't.

"Phil, come back" Jack yelled, running to the stairs but it was too late. Phil stood by the bedroom door, he was propped up only by the door frame. He looked like he had seen a ghost, all the blood had drained from his face and a cold sweat covered it. Jack took a moment to look too and immediately wished he hadn't, it was too gruesome for words.

"Come on, come down stairs and sit down" Jack told Phil.

Phil nodded and followed Jack down stairs sitting down in the hallway waiting for the forensic team to get there. "What do you think happened up there?" he asked after a few minutes of silence. Jack grimaced and looked away, it didn't bare thinking about. (Tony and Yvonne are back on patrol now in case you were wondering.)

The forensic team arrived a few minutes later and Jack and Phil kept out of the way while they began to gather the evidence.

"There's no point staying here now, we may as well go home and try to get some sleep," Jack said helping Phil up and back out to the car.

"Mmm" Phil murmured he didn't really want to back home, Abi was there and he would have to tell her how the investigation was going.

He hesitated when he got to his front door, he could hear Jack driving off behind him and he took a deep breath and opened the door.

"You're back. Finally! I've been calling you but you didn't pick up. What's happening have they found mum yet?" Abi asked pelting him with questions.

"Hey" Phil said, that was all he could manage. Abi saw his face and that was all she needed to know.

"Oh, God" she said in a choked voice. Hot tears were running down her face and she crossed the hall in two strides and hugged Phil tightly. He hugged her back, tears running down his face now too, he tried to blink them away but didn't have much success.

"I have to call Auntie Lynn" Abi said softly after she couldn't cry anymore. Phil nodded and pointed to where the phone was. Abi got up off the couch where they had been sitting and went to the phone. She dialled the number and waited.

"Buenos dios (that's hello in Spanish)" said a sleepy voice on the end of the line.

"It's me," Abi said hollowly.

"Who- what…Abi?" Lynn asked sleepily.

"Sorry, did I wake you?"

"Yeah…erm- what's wrong?" Lynn asked rubbing her eyes and sitting up in bed it wasn't late but Lynn had had the early morning shift at the hospital this morning after the normal shift the day before so she hadn't gotten much sleep and had gone to bed early. She had been living in Spain for the past year, to get practice speaking Spanish.

"It's- it's mum" Abi said and burst into a fresh bout of tears.

Phil could see she wasn't going to be able to explain the situation very well so he got up and stood next to Abi, "D'you want me to tell her?" he asked. She nodded and passed him the phone.

"-Abi, what is it? What's wrong? What's happened to Sam? Is she hurt?" Lynn asked urgently.

"Hello, my name is Phil Hunter, I'm a colleague of your sisters." He started but found he couldn't continue.

"Phil, what's happened, where is my sister?" Lynn demanded.

"I'm afraid we don't know, erm- Sam…Sam has been abducted and…and we have reason- err reason to believe- that…that she is…" Phil trailed off.

"That she is what, bloody hell tell me or I swear-" Lynn exploded.

"That she is –dead" Phil told her his heart sinking. Somehow, saying the word made it seem all the more real. He couldn't believe Sam was gone, and he had never got to tell her how he felt.

"Dead?" Lynn repeated faintly. "Tell Abi, I'll be on the next flight over" Lynn said and hung up.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The next morning Phil awoke stiff and sore, he had fallen asleep on the sofa, Abi was curled up next to him, tear stains on her usually clear face. He grimaced, what a day. Phil tried to get up with out waking Abi, she deserved a bit more sleep if she could get it, poor girl. Phil pulled the blanket up around her shoulders and left her there while he went upstairs to the bathroom. Phil splashed his face with water then ran a hot shower. Letting the jet of water pound his forehead he tried to forget what had happened yesterday. He could almost imagine walking into work and seeing Sam sitting at her desk, hear her laugh, see her smile, but every time he started to believe it, the vision of the bed stained with blood would pop in front of his eyes. Phil got out of the shower and went into his room to get changed. He chose some baggy track pants and an old shirt, he didn't think Abi should be alone right now, and he didn't really feel like facing work either. MIT would roll in and tear her life and Hugh's apart, searching for clues as to where he might go. Phil knew that tomorrow he would be angry but today he was just sad and empty.

"You love her don't you?" Abi said from the doorway, Phil had been staring out the kitchen window, think about putting the kettle on.

"Yeah, I do" Phil admitted, there was no point keeping it a secret anymore.

After he had put the kettle on Phil called the station, "Guv, you don't mind if I don't come in today do you? It's just I don't think Abi should be alone. I'll be in tomorrow. Abi's Aunt in coming over from Spain tonight" Phil said.

"Sure, that's fine, I'll see you tomorrow." Jack said and hung up.

"You didn't have to do that you know" Abi told him holding out a steaming mug of coffee for him.

"You didn't have to do that" he replied.

"Thankyou anyway, I'm glad you did." Abi said and went to sit down on the sofa with her mug of coffee.

"Welcome" Phil said as he sat down next to her.

Jack was sitting in his office wondering who they would be sending down from MIT to take over the case when there was a knock on his door. The door opened and Eva sharp and Mickey Webb walked in.

"They thought they should send some detectives who knew her," Eva said walking into the room.

"I'm glad it was you two, and not some other copper too big for his boots" Jack said standing up and shaking her hand, then shaking Mickey's.

"How the hell was this allowed to happen Guv? Sam told me she suspected it was Hugh but she didn't say you wouldn't take her seriously or even investigate it." Eva asked annoyed.

"All the evidence pointed to Baxter"

"Well of course it did, if he was framed. Come on Guv, not even to have investigated it?"

"I know, believe me, I've been beating myself up about it all night, couldn't sleep."

"I'm not surprised after seeing those photo's" Mickey commented.

"Come on then, let's go over theses case files, the sooner we catch him the sooner he's behind bars, which is what he deserves." Eva said sitting down and picking up a pile of papers.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Now this is what you've all been waiting for, sorry I had to drag it out so long but it's more fun this way.

Sam was fighting the unconsciousness as best she could, she knew there was a reason she had to wake up but she couldn't for the life of her remember what it was, better to just go back to sleep and hope it came to her in a dream. But now she was awake Sam found it hard to go back to sleep. Sam blinked her eyes and tried to lift her arms to rub her eyes only to notice that they were tied down.

"So you're finally awake?" Hugh commented getting up and walking over to her. Sam flinched away from him instinctively, she remembered what he had done to her. She had been walking around Victoria Park remembering the times she had taken Abi there when she was a child. She still had hoped that she might run into Abi there one day and they could make up but that wasn't very likely. Sam had thought someone was following her and had turned around just in time to see Hugh before she lost consciousness because of the blow he had delt her to the side of her head.

"Here, you must be thirsty" Hugh said chucking her a bottle of water. Sam was practically dying of thirst but she didn't want to drink anything he gave her, it was probably drugged.

"Get away from me you fucking piece of crap. I don't want you and I don't want your fucking water" Sam spat in a dangerously low voice.

"Sam, I'm doing you a favour here, can't you see that I love you?" Hugh implored desperately.

"What favour is that? Taking me away from my family and friends and holding me prisoner with just you here for company? That is my idea of HELL!"

"I'm stopping you from making the worst mistake of your life and getting together with _Phil Hunter_" Hugh spat the name as if it was poison. "I'm also keeping you here as a bargaining chip if the MET ever find us. You see, Abi ran off after she realised it was actually me who kidnapped her. She ran back to Phil Hunter. And come on, you know that guy would just use you and lose you." Hugh told her.

"What like I did to you?" Sam spat given strength knowing that Abi was safe.

"You BITCH!" Hugh yelled lunging towards her. "I'LL TEACH YOU TO APPRECIATE LOVE PROPERLY! YOU SLUT!" he roared. Sam flinched away from him as far as she could, not that that did much because she was between Hugh and the wall she was tied to. He came down on her like a ton of bricks and all the wind was pushed out of her lungs. Sam fought to get him off her but he was too strong. He covered her mouth with his, shoving his tongue down her throat. Sam bit it as hard as she could and he slapped her and sent her reeling. The blood was pounding in her ears now, he was going to rape her and there was nothing she could do. She could feel the acrid taste of blood in her mouth and wondered if it was hers or Hugh's. He shoved her down onto the hard floor and pinned her hands under her. Straddling her lap he sat up using one hand to hold her down while the other pulled at her shirt. The buttons popped off in quick succession and his hands began running up her sides towards her breasts Sam took the opportunity of freeing her hands when Hugh undid her bra, she didn't know what the point was because she had been struggling the entire time to no avail. Hugh's hands were now caressing her breasts as his mouth kissed her bare skin, befouling it. Sam was struggling as hard as she could, she screamed till Hugh covered her mouth with his hand but her mind was struggling to think of something, but eventually Sam lost control as Hugh tore off her skirt and snapped the sides to her underwear. He had to take his hand of her mouth to force her legs apart and Sam screamed till she was blue in the face. "Hugh, come on, stop this please. Can't we talk?" she pleaded, tears rolling down her face. Hugh calmed down as though he was actually thinking about it and then took advantage of the fact that she had relaxed and stopped struggling slightly to shove her legs apart. Sam cried out in muffled pain, Hugh's hand was over her mouth again. He thrust himself into her roughly, deeper and deeper. Nothing in her life had ever hurt so much, Sam couldn't take anymore of this and she passed out.

Jack wasn't aware of how much Phil liked Sam, he was aware, however that he blamed himself for her death and because of that he took Phil off the investigation. Phil was outraged by this and he asked, after calling Jack every name under the sun, if he could have a few days off. Jack readily agreed, Phil was too much of a liability to have around and the shock of finding the blood had been bad on Jack, he couldn't imagine what Phil was feeling right now if he truly believed that this was all his fault. At that moment Phil was waiting in the cellar door, the seediest club in town, it was in Soho, which was the prostitutes' district. Coppers tried to avoid going there at the best of times. He was waiting for a contact he had. Hugh might have been able to get away with kidnapping…almost-but he wasn't going to get away with murder. Phil had contacts in the underworld of crime, more than Hugh did. Phil conceded that Hugh might have some because of the line of work he was in but Phil had run in this town for a few years before his best mate got nicked and he figured that it would be better to join the police than be nicked by 'em. He was waiting for his contact who had said he might have some information to where Hugh was. He was late but that was to be expected, Soho ran almost an hour behind regular time. Another ten minutes passed and Phil was just about to give up hope when he showed. Alexander Marcarelli was the information man in the underworld, if it was happening he knew about it.

"I'm looking for this guy, you seen him?" he asked showing him a crumpled picture of Hugh.

"So what if I have?"

"It's definately worth your while telling me where he is."

Phil held up a thick wad of cash, he was willing to do anything if it meant putting Sam's killer behind bars and he wanted to do it before Sam's memorial service, Abi and Lynn were planning it now.

"How much worth my while?"

"A thousand pounds" Phil answered, he was prepared to go to five but it was traditional to start low.

"Only a thousand, I think he'd pay me more to keep quiet."

"Two" Phil offered.

"Hmmm."

"Three and that's my final offer."

"Four and you got a deal."

"Ok, four, half now half later" Phil agreed and handed the money over. The man got out a grubby piece of paper with an address scrawled on it, "I think this is what you're looking for" he said. Phil stared at, memorising the address and then looked up again but he was gone. He had left as silently as he had arrived. It was late and Phil knew he shouldn't go on his own but who could he trust? He considered his options, Mickey was out, he hated Phil, the same went for Eva. Jack was also out of the question. For a moment Phil considered Steve but he dismissed it immediately. And then it hit him, Neil owed him for the whole Andrea situation. He took out his mobile and dialled the number.

"Hello?" Neil answered. Phil could hear Pippa in the background screaming, _is that you're girlfriend then? I know you're cheating on me Neil and I'll get proof._

"Neil, it's me" there was a pause.

"Pippa, shut up, it's Phil" there was a scrambling noise then Pippa's voice shouted down the phone, "I'm going to find out who you are you tart, and I promise I'll make your life a living hell."

"Ok, how 'bout I make it easier and I'll tell you who I am, my name is Phil Hunter and my address is-" he was interrupted by Phillipa.

"Oh God Phil, I am so sorry- just forget I said anything," she said embarrassed and she handed the phone back to Neil who could clearly be heard saying, _are you happy now?_

"Sorry about that Phil, what can I do for you?"

"Never mind Guv, it can wait and I can hear you've got things that you need to do" Phil amended after a moment.

"Ok, Phil. See you tomorrow." Neil said and hung up.


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks to all who reviewed, you know who you are, I'm sorry the last chap was so evil, but it will get better I swear, not soon, but it will. Love you guys and please keep reviewing, it makes me update faster.

Chapter 7

Sam was in so much pain. Groggily she opened her eyes and properly took her surroundings for the first time. She was in a shabby two room flat with the kitchen dining area at the other end and the bathroom off through a door to her right. The paint on the walls was chipping and mouldy, the little carpet there was, was an undistinguishable colour and it was mouldy too, she could tell by the smell. Hugh was lying next to her with an empty vodka bottle in his hand. This gave Sam an idea and she cautiously reached for the bottle trying not to wake Hugh. Seizing it in her hand she pulled it out of his grasp and as he sat up brought it crashing down on his head. He slumped back on the floor, unconscious. The bottle hadn't smashed so Sam smashed it on the floor then used it to cut her bonds. Sam was shaky on her feet, she couldn't believe she had just done that. Tears started streaming down her face as she kicked Hugh again and again. "That's for being a stupid cow and making me think I was good at profiling…that's for kidnapping my daughter…that's for making me feel like shit…and that's just to make me feel better" she shouted through tears.

She was cold and shivering but she noticed a bag in the corner, it had her clothes in it. Hugh must have picked it up from her house. With her fingers trembling she pulled out a long-sleeved shirt with a simple round neck. Over the top of that went a large black jumper, it would keep her warm and it had a hood. She continued rummaging through the bag hoping the find her track pants but they weren't there so she selected her jeans. Taking her running shoes from beside the bag Sam went over to check on Hugh. She gave him another kick for good measure then she grabbed her bag and walked over to the door. It was locked and Sam panicked grabbing it and pulling as hard as she could. Eventually it gave way and she was free.

She ran, as hard and as fast as she could, she just wanted to get away. Pulling the hood over her head she continued running. Sam only stopped when she was sure she couldn't run anymore. Looking around at her surroundings Sam realised she was near the river, she headed left, back towards Sunhill. She just needed time to think. What day was it, how long had Hugh held her captive? She could see a man walking along with his dog, "Ex-excuse me" She stammered. "What's the date?"

"Umm – the seventh" the man replied smiling, she looked kinda lost.

Sam shivered, sometime when she was running her hood had fallen off, she thanked the man and continued walking, not bothering to put her hood back on, it wasn't far and the cool air was helping to clear her head. Sam was tossing up whether to go straight there or take a detour on the way when she saw Tanner's wharf, she had a sudden vision of her and her dad playing there together when she was a child. Jordan was in the background fishing while Lynn was sitting on the bench with their mum eating an ice-cream. Sam was in the park running as fast as her legs could carry her, but her dad was faster, he caught her and bundled her up in the air, she was squealing with delight. Why couldn't things go back to the way they were, why did her parents have to get divorced? Why did she have to move? Why did she have to grow up? Why did her life have to turn out like this? Sam couldn't understand, where did everything start to go wrong? She walked slowly along the wharf, trying to sort out her thoughts. She stood at the end of the wharf for a long time, just staring into the water. She could imagine it coming up and closing over her head, the brief moment when she panicked not being able to breathe. Then, slowly, her consciousness would fade and she would be at peace. She shivered, that would be horrible, she could never even imagine feeling so desperate that you would even contemplate that. A while later she heard footsteps behind her, turning around she saw it was the night guard, "What are you doing here at this time of night?" he asked her kindly.

Sam took a step back, away from him, "Just thinking" she replied. Turning back around she asked him what the time was.

"Eleven thirty" he replied. Sam thanked him and continued walking back down the wharf. Eleven thirty, he would be there by now. She headed across the park and blindly crossed the road. There was a car horn and she jumped. "Umm-sorry" she apologised and hurried out the way of the car. She stopped on the corner to catch her breath then continued down the road. She cut down a lane way and then through an abandoned building, she knew her way around these streets like the back of her hand, even if she hadn't been here for ten years. Eventually she found the house she was looking for, there was a taxi out the front, he was ruing late. She waited till the taxi had gone then she walked up and knocked one the front door. A moment later the door opened, "Sam, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I-I just wanted to see you…I" Sam started and burst into tears. Usually her policy was not to show emotions in front of others, but he was ok, he was safe.

"Oh, come here" she said wrapping his arms around her, she breathed a sigh of relief, she was safe for the moment.

Phil drove to the address on his own, it probably wasn't a good idea but he didn't intend on taking Hugh on his own. He could call for back up once he confirmed Hugh was actually there. When he arrived he was confused to see the door practically hanging off its hinges. Walking cautiously towards it he took out his phone and dialled the station. He rounded the corner and saw Hugh lying in a small puddle of blood. He had been beaten to a pulp!

"Hello, Sunhill police station" Dean answered.

"Dean, it's Phil. I need an ambulance fast" he gave him the address then went over to check Hugh's condition. He had a weak pulse and he was still breathing so there wasn't any immediate danger. Phil stood up glad that he didn't have to decide whether he would actually perform mouth to mouth on that creep. He gave him a kick just to make himself feel better, not like he could do anymore harm anyway.

The ambulance arrived about ten minutes later and Hugh was bundled into it. Phil followed the ambulance back to Saint Hughes hospital. They had been going to take him somewhere closer but as there was no immediate danger they had agreed to escort him there at Phil's request. Phil connected his hands free kit to his phone and rang Eva, she was the one heading up the investigation after all.

"What?" Eva answered the phone grumpily, she had been about to go to bed.

"Eva it's me. I'm on my way to Saint Hughes right now with Hugh Wallace. Just thought you'd like to know" Phil informed her and hung up. Next he called Mickey.

"What do you want Phil?" Mickey asked annoyed. He had just been about to leave.

"I was just calling to say that I'm on the way to Saint Hughes now-"

"With Hugh Wallace, I know. I was just about to go there myself."

"How did you know?"

"Eva told me."

"That quickly?"

"All she had to do was turn around and open her mouth, we were going over the case files at her house" Mickey said and hung up on Phil.

Phil sighed and dialled Jack's number "What?" Jack answered, also grumpy.

"I found Hugh Wallace, I'm on the way to Saint Hughes with him now, he was beaten to a pulp"

"Ok, I'm on my way" Jack said suddenly more awake.

Phil knew he had one more call to make, not that he was looking forward to it.

"What the hell do you want, do you know what time of night it is?" Gina yelled down the phone

"Yes."

"Phil, what are you calling me for?" Gina asked relaxing slightly.

"Thought you might want to know, Hugh's been found. He was beaten to a pulp though and he's on his way to the hospital now."

"Oh, thanks for letting me know Phil" Gina said, it was good to know that he had been caught.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Sam sat down on the couch, feeling a lot better in her dad's arms. He whispered nonsense to her until she fell asleep, he hated seeing her like this, what could have made her loose it this badly. The Glen fiasco was bad enough, it had changed her forever. His little girl had gone and in her place was a cool calculating woman who wouldn't stand for anything. Sometimes he though it was Abi who had suffered the most because of that but most of the time he thought it was Sam. Before that she had been a happy teenager, concentrating on her school-work and hanging out with friends. She had been doing a humanity degree with intentions of helping the United Nations, but after that she had become reserved, and alcoholic. Hendon had saved her, but in some ways it had killed her. He got up and poured himself a glass of scotch then he went to bed. Hopefully he could get some sort of story out of her in the morning, instead of her clamming up like usual.

Phil, Jack, Eva and Mickey were at the hospital waiting for word on Hugh and Phil was explaining what had happened. "I talked to this informant and he said he had seen Hugh hanging around this address so I went to check it out."

"You didn't think to take back up?"

"Well yeah, but I thought that I could have a look round first, see if Hugh was about then call for back up if need be."

"I hate to have to ask you this Phil but did you have anything to do with Hugh's beating?" Mickey asked.

Phil couldn't believe his ears, he knew Mickey hated him but to accuse him of that…"No, I can't believe you would even consider that. Like I said, I found him like that."

"Ok, but we'll need your clothes for forensics anyway"

"God, are you serious?" Phil exploded.

"Phil, come on, if you were in our position it would look slightly dodgy to you wouldn't it?" Jack asked hoping he would understand and cooperate.

"Yeah, ok I admit it _looks_ dodgy, but I didn't do it, you have to believe me."

"Ok, I believe you, but we still need to eliminate you, ok?"

Phil sighed, "Fine" he muttered. He couldn't believe what was happening, over the last few days he had lost almost all he cared about, Sam was dead, Maddie was distant, and now he could possibly lose his job and the way his luck was going he would also loose his freedom.

Sam woke up on the couch, her head was pounding she was covered in sweat and she was gasping for air. Needing to block out the memories of the last day she sat up and headed over to her dad's liquor cabinet. She found his huge, crystal bottle that was always full of scotch. She took after her dad with a love for the bittersweet drink. Pouring herself a glass then turning it round in her hands, she looked at it and slammed it back down onto the counter opting for the entire bottle instead. It was a litre or more in there, with that she could get well and truly hammered, it should do the trick. Taking a big swig Sam braced herself, shaking her head from the sudden brain freeze she smiled. Good old dad, it was double scotch, even better.

Phil sat at his desk, he was typing up a formal report of how he had found Hugh, God it was _so _tedious, he just wanted to get out there and do something, all this sitting around wasn't helping. He had thought that finding Sam's killer and bringing him to justice would help but it didn't, the only thing that would help was if Sam was here, mocking him for being a slow typer. Maybe he could convince Jack to let him go around on the beat tomorrow, with Steve, he needed some sort of release from this feeling of responsibility. A round on the beat was exactly what the doctor ordered, something not too taxing on the brain but taxing on the body. He was waiting for Steve to bring him some clothes to wear seeing as they'd taken his others for forensics.

Eventually Steve arrived and Phil changed, he decided to go home and get some sleep if he could, he would talk to Jack in the morning.

Sam's dad found her the next morning, passed out on the couch with an empty bottle in her hand, he didn't think even he'd be able to drink that much in one go and stay breathing. He shook her awake "God, why do I feel like I've just died?" Sam moaned, holding her head.

"Maybe because you just drank a litre and a half of double scotch and four bottles of lager" he suggested wryly.

"Ugh, don't talk too loud" Sam moaned and went to stand up. He pushed the bucket he was holding under her face just as she vomited.

"You know me too well" she muttered and vomited again. Helping her to the bathroom, and carrying the bucket wasn't so difficult the fortieth time around. George sat on the bathroom stool, laying her over his lap and holding her hair out of her face as she heaved. When she had finished he forced some painkillers down her throat and dragged her along the corridor to the spare room. She could sleep it off in there.

Phil arrived at work early the next afternoon, Jack had told him not to come in that morning so he had spent some time with Abi and Lynn. The forensics hadn't come back yet so he still wasn't allowed to do anything. Thankfully he managed to convince Jack that it would be worthwhile him going out on patrol. Unfortunately there were no spare uniforms that fit him so Jack told him to go in his civvies. Phil was stuck with Gina as a partner but he didn't mind. They drove around for a while and he found himself wandering in his thoughts. He didn't know why but he had an image of Sam standing on the end of Tanner Wharf as they drove past. A few minutes later they got as call through about a disturbance nearby. Gina turned the car around and headed back to the house. They got out of the car and Phil looked up at it. It was a red brick house set quite far back from the street, it must be old to have that much land, most houses these days were two or three story, taking up as little of the ground as possible. Most didn't have a garden at all but this one had a relatively large garden, with a well-trimmed lawn and large trees, good for climbing. He saw a young girl with blonde hair in the tree, some how he knew it was Sam when she was younger, he seemed to be seeing her everywhere today, and it wasn't helping his mood.

Gina knocked on the door and flinched as she heard a crash from inside.

George waited for Sam to calm herself down, there was no talking to her when she was like this. She took after her mother occasionally, as an angry drunk. She wasn't often violent, most of the time she was giggling hysterically or falling asleep but not this time. She was yelling at him but she though he was her brother Jordan.

"You left me, when I needed you most, took off overseas and I haven't heard from you since. How could you do that to me? I needed you, you were always there before Jordy, what happened? We always used to share things you and me, we were like that." She crossed her fingers to emphasise her point.

"I know and I'm sorry, I don't know why I did it" George apologised.

"Don't give me that bullshit!" Sam screamed and threw the ashtray towards him. Her aim normally wasn't very good but she was a good shot when she was drunk so it narrowly missed his head. He heard a knock on the door, "Police!" someone shouted. He sighed, that morning the newsreader had been saying something about Hugh Wallace, George had heard Sam muttering about him in her sleep so he had turned it up. George wasn't usually in the country and he was quite often uncontactable so he hadn't heard what was going on in England until then. "-Hugh Wallace, the man who allegedly abducted and murdered Police officer Samantha Nixon was apprehend last night…" the news read continued with details about Sam, her life and her –death. He had talked to Sam later that morning telling her she should let the police know she's alright. She had insisted on having the physical examination done first then they had gone back home so Sam could rest up a bit, he knew that she wasn't in a sate to be talking to anyone. They were going to go down to the station later today but now the police were here they would want to talk to her, he could only hope they weren't from eh station that Sam worked at.

"Sam, calm down" he said, raising his voice slightly. She took a deep breath to start arguing again but let out, deciding that vomiting was more important. When she had gotten back she had proceeded to drink a bottle of tequila three more lagers and six beers. She rushed to the bathroom while George went to answer the door.

"Hello officers, can I help you?" he asked hoping they wouldn't ask to come in.

"The neighbours reported a disturbance, we came to see if everything's alright, may we come in?" Gina asked.

George sighed, "I'd rather you didn't" he answered.

"Why is that?" Gina asked raising her eyebrows.

"It's my daughter, she's drunk. It's quite embarrassing" he answered truthfully. "What station did you say you were from?"

"Sunhill, I'm Inspector Gold and this is DS Hunter" Gina answered.

George thought for a moment, what station was Sam working in at the moment? He didn't think it was Sunhill so he decided to let them in.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" He asked politely.

"Thanks, so where's you daughter now?"

"In the bathroom, I'd better go check on her actually" George answered. The two officers followed him down to the bathroom. Sam was flopped unconscious over the side of he bath, George calmly lifter her head out of the puddle of vomit and checked she was breathing. She was which was good, he tuned the tap and made sure the water wasn't too cold. With one hand on her forehead to support her and the other on the back of her head so she didn't bump her head painfully on the tap if she woke up he guided her head under the tap, washing some of the vomit our of her hair. Gina wrinkled her nose in disgust, how could he be so calm about doing that? Phil was watching with interest. He would know that blonde head anywhere but it was impossible. He moved around Gina into the room and over to the tap. He took over holding Sam's head out of the bath and with his other hand he rinsed the vomit out of her hair. It appeared she was in a deep sleep because she didn't wake up. He glanced under her hair to check it was her, but he didn't really need to, he knew it just by her hair and the touch of her skin on his hand.

Gina watched surprised as Phil gently rinsed the vomit from this woman's hair. She had never seen this side of him before and she couldn't imagine why it would come out now.

George regarded Phil curiously, did he know Sam? One look at him told him he did, he was in love with her that much was obvious. In a moment of clarity it came to George that this man was the only one who could sympathise with how he was feeling. He looked into his eyes and told him silently _Don't let your boss know it's Sam_. Phil agreed without question, after all he had to have a reason, he wouldn't want to harm her. He was her father. George, seeing that Phil had it under control, extracted himself from under Sam's body and showed Gina through to the dining room.

Phil continued to wash the vomit out of Sam's hair. It hurt to see her like this, knowing that somehow it was his fault. He should have protected her. He felt her move under his hand and he drew her head our from under the tap.

"Come on, hold onto the side" he told her. She did so and he grabbed a towel and began drying her hair.

Sam felt numb, she couldn't remember how she'd got here, her head was pounding and she was aware of only one other thing. Phil was in the room with her, what was he doing here? She wondered. She flinched a little as she felt his hand on her neck, how could he bear to touch her after what that monster had done? Deep deep down Sam knew this wasn't her fault, but admitting that would mean admitting that she didn't have total control and to Sam, that was the worse thing that could possibly happen. Phil helped Sam to sit on the chair, she pointed groggily to the medicine cabinet which was mounted on the wall. He opened it and found the painkillers, popping two from their bubbles he handed them to her with a glass of water. Sam took them gratefully and swallowed them. He waited a moment, then took the glass from her. When he turned around Sam was holding out her hand, he took it and pulled her to her feet. Sam flinched but didn't move away, she just slung her arm over his shoulders and stumbled out the room. She didn't know whether it was the alcohol or something deeper, but no matter how much she dreaded being touched she could handle it from Phil, while she was drunk anyway. Phil assumed she knew where she was going so he let her lead, just supporting her as she went. Sam stumbled down the corridor to the spare room and flopped down on the bed. Phil pulled the covers out from under her and tucked her in. "Phil" she whispered, he jumped hearing hear her say his name.

"Yeah?" he asked gently.

"What are you doing here?"

"Gina and I were called to a disturbance here"

"Gina's here?"

"Yeah, she'd in the other room talking to your dad"

"Can you…stop Gina from leaving, give me ten minutes then I want to talk to her" Sam murmured.

"Sure" Phil agreed and left the room as she rolled over onto her side. He closed the door and walked down the hall in search of Gina. He found her sipping a cup of coffee looking at some bottles impressed. "What are they?" he asked.

"That's how much she drank" Gina said indicating a large crystal bottle which smelt like scotch, no, double scotch, a tequila bottle, seven larger bottles and six beer bottles. Phil whistled impressed, "I don't reckon even I could drink that much" he commented.

"That's coz you're a lightweight" Gina muttered, "But I do admit that even I couldn't drink that much."

"You could if you put your mind to it" George remarked grimly. "Believe me, that's not the worst of it, she used to drink a lot more."

"Oh, well did she regain consciousness Phil?" Gina asked.

"Yeah, for a minute or two, I gave her a couple of painkillers and she should be ready to talk in a few minutes" he answered.

George looked at him warningly, "No, I don't think that's necessary, you two'd better be going, look at the time."

Phil shook his head, "No, she specifically asked to speak to Gina" he told George.

George sighed, "Ok, just give her a few more minutes."

Phil nodded.

"Is there something you know that I don't? Do you know that woman?" Gina asked confused.

"Yeah, I do" Phil answered vaguely. To avoid answering anymore awkward questions he left the room, instead going to check on Sam. She was lying on the bed looking so peaceful.

Sam sensed Phil watching her and opened her eyes a crack, her heart started beating faster but with it came a great sense of disappointment. She knew Phil wouldn't want to even look at her once he knew what Hugh had done to her.

"Phil" she murmured sitting up then flopping back down when her head started to pound.

"What?" he asked her gently.

Sam smiled up at him, her skin crawled at the thought of touching him but it crawled worse at the thought of not. She knew this was Hugh's doing. Taking a deep breath Sam tried to allow herself to admit that it wasn't her fault, that she had no control over the situation but she couldn't.

"Is Gina still here?" she asked.

"Yeah" Phil answered sitting on a chair and the foot of her bed.

"Does she know it's me in here?"

"No, not yet, do you want me to tell her?"

"Umm, yeah, please" Sam muttered and closed her eyes again.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

When Phil walked back into the other room Gina was facing the other way, looking at a photo, the girl in the tree looked familiar, a bit like Sam actually.

"Hey, Gina?"

"Mmmm?"

"You remember when Abi was missing, that girl was found in the water?" Phil asked.

"Mmm –what about it?" Gina asked suspicious.

"Well that was Hugh faking someone's death, what's the chance he faked Sam's?" he asked.

Gina sighed, "I wish" she murmured, "Very slim, the DNA on the blood was Sam's what else could have happened?" she asked hoping Phil would have some miracle answer to that.

"Sam's a registered blood donor isn't she? And Hugh's a doctor, it would have been easy for him to get some blood, if he specifically looked for some of hers…it wouldn't take long to find" Phil thought out loud, that was the only explanation he could think of that explained why Sam was still here.

Gina stared at Phil amazed, "Phil, that's brilliant, that means Sam could still be alive" Gina exclaimed sarcastically, "though the chances of that happening is one in a million" she added.

"Well, I guess we got the lucky one…the woman in the other room –it's Sam" Phil told her, smirking at Gina's total lack of faith. His mother would have given her a slap on the backside for that. Internally, he chuckled thinking of Gina being given a smack on the backside, of anyone daring to do that, though his mum probably would.

"You're kidding" Gina whispered shocked.

"No, I'm not" Phil replied.

"You'd better not be winding me up" she warned moving towards the door.

"Gina, would I honestly joke about something like this?"

"No, I suppose not" Gina answered and walked back along the corridor.

Slowly pushing the door open she strained her eyes to see what was in the room but she knew better than to turn on the light. Sam was lying on the bed, her eyes were closed, much needed sleep coming at last. Gina moved closer to her, she could feel a sudden heat rushing into her heart –happiness. God that had been scarce recently, especially with her cancer. Sam sensed that she was being watched and she opened her eyes.

"Gina?" she asked drowsily.

"Hey, you go back to sleep. We can talk later" Gina told her surprisingly gentle. Sam smiled at her friend, "Ok" she answered and rolled over murmuring, "As long as you stay here."

"Of course" Gina answered sadly, she had just realised what Sam must have been through. And she would still be suffering long after Hugh was behind bars.

"Promise?" Sam asked quietly. She sounded like a scared little girl.

"I promise" Gina answered and Sam drifted off to sleep.

Sam woke hours later, her head was pounding, someone helped her to sit and they pushed a couple of painkillers into her hand. She threw them into her mouth, sipping from the cup the person was holding to her lips. It was Gina, Sam realised, and there were two other people in the room, one was sitting on the chest at the end of the bed, the other was standing by the door. Phil and her dad. Sam lay back down willing the headache to subside, "How's you day been? Mine was shit" she said. Phil smirked wryly, at least she still had a sense of humour, even if it was disturbingly bleak.

"Alright, you think you're up to making a statement?" Gina asked.

Sam laughed shortly, "Getting down to the nitty gritty already hey? Be nice if you could wait till my heads not feeling like it's been through the sugar mill."

"Well whose fault is that?" Gina asked good-naturedly.

"Sympathy would also be a nice treat, though I guess I don't deserve it. Give the pills ten minutes then I'll get up" Sam replied and rolled over wishing she'd wake up and this would all be a bad dream.

An hour later Sam stepped out of the car and walked towards the doors of Sunhill police station. She had changed into black pants, loose around her legs, an off white polar jumper, that tied around her waist, a bit like a short dressing gown with a large hood and a black over coat. These with the over sized sunglasses made her look like a movie star in a bad disguise.

Sam walked through the front doors with Phil on one side and Gina on the other. They propelled her towards the soft interview room not stopping to speak to anyone and ignoring all the strange looks they were getting. After sitting her down Gina made to go, Sam was about to ask her to stay when she realised how childish that would sound. Instead she bit her lip and just said, "Gina, can you please do the interview?"

"Sure, I jut need to talk to the Super first" Gina replied. Sam nodded, Gina and Phil left and she was on her own again. Sam began to crave a drink, she needed something to calm her nerves from being alone. She knew it was irrational but her mind was telling her that if she was alone, Hugh was going to come and get her again. He would never leave her alone, ever, she knew that he was behind bars, but she just didn't ever want to see him again. The fear taking over her, Sam just broke down, the tears spilling over her cheeks.

Gina walked along the corridor towards Adam's office, practicing what she was going to say. Telling him Sam was dead was one thing, telling him now she wasn't, was another. Maybe she should take a leaf out of Phil's book and start him focusing on the possibilities.

"Hello Sir, can I have a word?" Gina asked after opening the door. Jack went to leave but Gina shook her head and closed the door, "You should probably stay too" she told him.

"What's this about Gina?" Adam asked concerned.

"I was just wondering…what do you think the chances are of Hugh faking Sam's death?" Gina started.

"A million to one, I don't see how he could do it, DNA testing showed it was Sam's blood" Jack replied. He was curious as to why Gina was asking these questions, surely Sam couldn't actually be alive? But why would she be asking them otherwise? Gina didn't usually just wonder about something she couldn't change.

"But Sam's a blood donor isn't she? He could have stolen some of her blood from the hospital and used that" Gina suggested.

"I guess that's possible, what is it Gina. Have you seen Sam somewhere?" Adam asked hopefully.

"I went out on the beat today and was called to a domestic with Phil Hunter. There was a drunken woman who was having a screaming match with her father. I didn't recognise her at first but Phil did. Its Sam…she's in the soft interview room now, waiting for me to take her statement, I told her I would. I just thought you should know first" Gina answered.

"You're serious? That's…great news," Jack said though he didn't sound completely convinced. He knew what Sam would be going through after going through it with Laura and he would never wish that on anyone.

"Yeah, I'd better get back, she's really quite unstable." Gina answered, the two men nodded. When Gina had left Adam turned to Jack, "I think you'd better call a meeting of the relief, let them and CID know that Sam's alive" he told Jack and sat back down at his desk indicating that Jack had been dismissed. Jack nodded and went off to find Smithy. He was sitting in the Sergeants office, "Smithy, you busy?"

"Nup, what d'you want?"

"It's almost shift change right?"

"Yep."

"Can you get all the officers you can into the canteen, there's something we need to talk to them about." Jack told smithy.

He frowned, "What's this about Jack?" he asked dubiously.

"Don't worry, they're not in trouble or anything, I just need to have a word" Jack replied mysteriously and left.

He headed up the stairs to see Neil, he was hiding in his office as usual, "Neil, is everyone from CID here?" he asked.

Neil checked out the door counting the people, "Yes Guv, everyone's here, what's this about?"

"You'll see" Jack replied walking over to the door and across the hall, calling everyone from VPU into the room too. Ramani Terry and Roger filed in.

"Take a seat please, listen up everyone, I have some quite…astounding news." Jack called out, everyone was silent immediately. "It seems Hugh Wallace has managed to fool us all, Samantha Nixon is still alive. She was found this afternoon by two of our officers, it seemed she was the one who beat Hugh unconscious so she could escape. Sam is in the soft interview room now, I don't want any of you going out of your way for a sneak peek, in fact no peeks at all. I want you to remember your professionalism and don't gawp. Think how that would make her feel. I'll give you an update as soon as I know more" he said and headed towards the door. There was silence for a while then everyone started talking. Jack kept going and headed towards the canteen. The relief's reaction was pretty much the same as CID's. Neil cornered Jack after he had escaped to his office and pestered him for details. Jack sent him Gina's way.

The next morning Sam woke with a terrible headache, when she'd gotten home she had hugged Abi and had been sent to bed. She had found a couple of bottles of scotch and a bottle of tequila. After that it was pretty much a blur though she managed to find two empty bottles of lager under her bed. She knew she shouldn't drink anymore but she needed to drown out the memories, grog was the only thing that helped, at least in the first week. Crawling over to her cupboard she fished in the back and found a very old bottle of bourbon and another bottle of scotch, good. Sam cracked open the bourbon, she'd leave the best for last, and took a swig. After pulling herself to her feet she stumbled to her bed, flopping down on it and taking another huge swig. She felt so…useless…so detached. She wasn't the same person anymore and she never could go back there again. God why did Hugh have to do this to her? Was it something she'd said, something she'd done, why did he have to get hung up over _her_? Why not some other woman? Sam knew it was selfish to think that way but since when had being selfless got you anywhere? It just told people that they could walk all over you –not that it stopped them in the long run. Maybe it was better that way, don't expect anything and you can't be disappointed. Sam winced as sunlight started flooding through the curtains, daytime. It had to be better than the night before though, every time Sam had closed her eyes she had seen Hugh's leering face, felt the searing pain of what he had done to her. She woke up expecting to see him and when she didn't she'd start to panic, at least if he was there she knew what she was in for, what if he was under her bed, waiting for her. Or in her cupboard, or in the bathroom, or in the kitchen, or at the bottom of the stairs, he could be anywhere in her imagination, even though she knew he was in hospital and he would be in gaol soon enough. She knew she was being stupid but she couldn't help it, her fear was overtaking her. Sam had finished the bourbon and started on the scotch. After that she tried her waste paper basket that she never used, brilliant, a small bottle of triple scotch, made to be diluted and another bottle of tequila. After that she passed out.


	10. Chapter 10

Thankyou to all of you who have reviewed, and thanks for being so patient with me, I'm so sorry it took me so long to get around to updating, evil real life got in the way again.

This chapter is dedicated to _samantha-nixon_ for her absolutely wonderful pm, thanks again. You made my day. Hope you enjoy this, some nice happy, or not so, drama for you. 

Chapter 10

Abi went to wake her mother a bit after ten, thinking she might want something to eat, she came in quietly and gaped at all the alcohol bottles, her mum had a serious problem. She couldn't imagine having that much to drink –ever. Granddad was still downstairs so she decided to call him instead. He came up the stairs and sighed. After fetching a bucket from the laundry he shook Sam awake and mover her over the bucket. A few moments later she vomited, again and again her body heaved. Abi watched scared. Her mother had always been strong, she had always been there for her and now suddenly she wasn't, and Abi needed her now more than ever.

George gave Sam a couple of sleeping pills and then went down stairs, he raided the liquor cabinet and brought up a few of her favourites, scotch, tequila, lager.

"Why are you doing that?" Abi asked.

"Believe me, when she's in this sort of mood if she doesn't get her fix she gets cranky and let me tell you, you have _never _seen your mum cranky."

Abi hesitated, should she ask? "You sound like you've gone through this before" she prompted.

"Yeah, many years ago, just after you were born. Your mum hit the bottle heavy, don't think there was a moment that first week where she was sober. Drank more in a day than me and my workmates did in a month. Your Gran practically raised you the first few months, after the first week she tried keeping your mother away from the alcohol but she takes after your Gran, she isn't usually a nasty drunk, mostly sleepy or giggly, but sometimes they can get nasty. I remember we lost three vases, an ashtray, two breakfast bowls and an antique ornamental plate during that row."

Abi was reeling in shock, this wasn't the person she knew, the person who'd raised her cared for her, pissed her off when she acted like she didn't care.

"You know it may surprise you to know your mum used to be a lot like you, happy, open, kind –but all that changed when she broke up with your dad, she couldn't believe he had deceived her like that." George continued.

"Oh" Abi replied unsure of what to say, how could her mum have kept something like this from her? Her Granddad headed up the stairs to deposit the bottles, Abi returned to doing her homework hoping her mum would snap out of this soon.

George went upstairs and placed the bottles by Sam's bed with a note-attached saying, _'only drink these if you really have to'_.

Two days later Sam was still in a drunken stupor with her routine being wake, drink, sleep…wake, drink, sleep. She stumbled into the bathroom, glaring at the mirror. She hated it, every time she saw herself in it she felt dirty, useless…like another worthless piece of meat. Sam opened it to get out the painkillers, the bottle was heavy and cumbersome in her hands and her eyes were blurry. She tipped some pills out onto her hand…how many was that? It looked like two. Sam popped them into her mouth and took a gulp of water. After replacing the bottle she closed the cupboard and glared at the mirror again. Why couldn't it just go away? Without thinking Sam shoved her open hand towards the mirror and hit it. The glass split, a crack running up from the top to the bottom left corner. Sam slapped it again and it opened up another crack running the opposite way, from the left to the bottom right hand corner. Angrily she picked up the soap holder and smashed it into the mirror, leaning on the sink for support. This time it broke, a sliver of glass bounced into the sink and then up again, embedding itself in her wrist, Sam turned her hand over to look at it. She looked calmly at the blood, it didn't hurt. Why didn't it hurt? Was there something wrong with her that she couldn't feel pain? Or was it that she was in too much pin already. It is a scientific fact that you can only feel pain in two places at once.

She pulled the sliver out of her wrist and dropped it in the sink, a trickle of blood ran quickly down towards her elbow. It widened out but Sam didn't try to stop it, she just let it flow, entranced by the colour, it was such a pretty shade of red.

"Sam, what's going on in there?" George yelled from the hall. She didn't answer him, what was the point? He would only worry, and she didn't want to worry him, she could look after herself.

"Sam" he yelled again. Sam still didn't reply, the vision around the edges of her eyes was getting blurry, like she was finally going to be able to get some rest. She was dimly aware of a pounding on the door and turned to see what it was. The door burst open and her father stood there a look of panic in his eyes, she looked at him as if to enquire what was wrong then slumped to the floor.

"Sam, oh God, come on baby, look at me. Open your eyes, it's ok, I'm going to get an ambulance." He whispered to her, his voice low and panicky. "Abi" he yelled down the stairs.

Abi came running, "What is- Oh God!" Abi felt her knees almost give way beneath her, her mother was laying on the bathroom floor, her grandfather bent over her. She was bleeding heavily from a deep gash in her wrist and her eyes were rolled back in her head, the whites showing beneath heavy lids.

"Call an Ambulance, tell them where we are, say that there's a woman, she unconscious and she's bleeding, and then come back" he instructed her, moving so that he could pull Sam into his lap. Abi rushed off and he looked around, grabbing a towel and dampened it, wiping it gently across Sam's arm to determine where she was bleeding. Seeing it was her wrist he used the towel to try and stem the bleeding and he checked if she was breathing. She wasn't, oh shit! Pushing her off his lap and laying her on the floor he began mouth to mouth. After checking to see if her heart was beating and finding it wasn't he progressed to CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). The ambulance arrived ten minutes later, he and Abi had been taking turns at CPR, keeping Sam alive. Abi was in a mess, why would her mum do this, did she hate living that much? Her mum was supposed to be strong, nothing was supposed to rattle her but here she was trying to kill herself. Her drinking for the last two days had been bad enough, she had been asleep a lot of the time, or crying. But the worst was when she got angry, she had every right to get angry after what they were saying Hugh did to her, but she would yell and scream and throw things. She wasn't even yelling at anyone in particular, most of the time, sometimes she would shout at Abi or her granddad, but Abi guiltily felt glad when she did that. It was better than when she didn't even recognise her. Abi had tears cascading down her face and her brain was in turmoil, how could this be the same person who had raised her?

Sam was rushed to hospital, Abi accompanied her in the ambulance and George followed behind in his car. As soon as they got to Saint Hughes Sam was rushed to theatre, Abi and George were ushered into the waiting room where they sat down and prayed that she would be ok.

"Do you want something to drink?" George asked Abi after they'd been waiting for half an hour with no news.

"Umm, coffee. White, one sugar thanks" Abi replied in a trembling voice. He nodded and left the room. Abi waited till he was out of sight then went for the other door, it led out side and it was a bit chilly. Abi pulled out her phone dialling Phil's number.

"Abi, what is it?" he asked, genuinely concerned, he had gotten quite close to the young woman when Sam had gone missing and they were friends now.

"Umm… it's ermm…" Abi choked sobbing.

"Where are you? I'm coming" he told her.

"I'm at Saint Hughes" Abi sobbed, tears flooding down her face.

"What happened? Are you hurt?" he asked, Phil's heart was pounding in his chest, the poor girl had been through so much, first with Hugh then with Sam's apparent death. He knew she'd been having a tough time since her mum had come home, she had been drinking a lot, barely ever sober and Abi just needed some one to talk to, someone who knew what she was going through. Someone like Sam who knew Hugh and how convincing he could be, but from what he had heard Sam wasn't sober for long enough to hold a conversation. He hadn't been allowed to see Sam since he had brought her into the station with Gina, although he had tried, George had insisted that he wait awhile, no sense in upsetting her unnecessarily. "Abi, are you till there?"

"Yes, I…err…mum, she…she tried to…tried to kill herself" Abi sobbed.

Phil felt all the blood drain from his face, he had never though Sam would try something like that. Ever! She was so together most of the time and even when she wasn't, she never showed signs of contemplating suicide

"I'll be right there" Phil told her and hung up, grabbing his coat from the back of his chair he was about to walk out there door when Neil walked out of his office. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked.

"I've got to go, sorry" Phil apologised, hoping that was enough but Neil beckoned him into his office. Phil considered ignoring him and walking out, but he sighed and followed him in there.

"Who was that on the phone?" Neil asked.

"Abi, she needs to talk to me" Phil replied.

"Abigale Nixon? I heard you got quite close to her, but I'm afraid I can't let you go Phil. She's not family."

"But Guv…"

"My hands are tied Phil" Neil told him regrettedly.

Phil sighed, should he tell Neil? Abi hadn't told him not to but it didn't need to be said. Sam would slaughter him if she found out he told Neil something like that. What could he do? "Guv, I have to go, if you haven't seen me you won't get in trouble" he begged.

"If I knew what was wrong I could make a better call of judgement" Neil agreed after a moments thought.

Phil considered it, Neil was bound to find out anyway so he may as well "Ok, but what ever I say, it stays within these walls. You can't repeat it to anyone, ever! Do you understand?" Phil said gravely.

Neil nodded, "Of course" he answered.

"It's Sam, Abi said she tried to kill herself, she's in Saint Hughes and Abi doesn't know if she'll make it" Phil answered, sitting down. His brain was running wild, what would happen if Sam died? To Abi and to him? He just couldn't bear the thought. Neil sat down to, it seemed he couldn't believe Sam would do something like that either.

"Ok, go. But you never saw me" he agreed.

"Saw who?" Phil replied and left.

He arrived at the hospital a while later, Abi was sitting in the waiting room with her grandfather and Lynn. As soon as she saw him she stood up and ran over to hug him. He could see she had been crying but that wasn't surprising. "Any news?" he asked her hopefully. She shook he head and he pulled her in for a hug, "Shhh, shhhh" he whispered though he couldn't think why, she had a right to cry if she wanted. Guiding her back over to the seats and sitting down he tried to calm her down. She moved so she was sitting on his lap and she rested her head against his chest. He was like the father she had never known. He didn't want to control her like Hugh. He didn't want to befriend her to get into her mum's pants. He didn't ignore her like her biological father did. Glen had claimed he wanted to keep in touch but she hadn't heard a word from him since he'd left, not even on her birthday. In that sense Phil was better than her own father, he liked her for who she was and he wanted what was best for her.

Fifteen minutes later a nurse came out, she didn't look too happy. "We have managed to stabilise Ms Nixon and she is consciousness. After a look at her wound we have determined that it was an accident, she didn't actually try to commit suicide. Can I have a word with one of you for a moment though?" she asked. George stepped aside with her and they conversed in low tones. She produced a piece of paper and after reading it he signed it.

"What did she want?" Abi asked when he came back.

"She wanted to know why Sam had bruises, if she was being abused, I told her about the rape and she asked about the drinking and the painkillers. Apparently Sam accidentally overdosed on those as well, that's what stopped her heart. Sam told her that she couldn't tell how many pain killers she was taking because of how much she'd drunk. The nurse agrees that's probably true because she had a blood alcohol level of point four-six." George answered sighing heavily. At least it meant his little girl hadn't tried to kill herself.

"Point four-six? Are you kidding?" Phil exploded.

"Is that high then?" Abi asked.

"Put it this way, a normal person at point four-six would be comatose. Sam's still consciousness, she's definitely not a lightweight that's for sure." Phil marvelled.

"The doctors have admitted her to the psych ward though, for counselling. She must stay there for at lest twenty-eight days, they want to try and get her sober for a while. Unless we can guarantee that we can keep her sober there's no way we can take her home before then." George added sombrely.

"Can we see her?" Phil asked.

George shook his head, "She's said she doesn't want to see anyone" he replied.

Abi turned around choking back tears, her own mum didn't want to see her. Phil put his arm out to stop her leaving, "Wait, let me see if I can talk to them" he told her. Walking over to the nurse he prayed that she'd at least let him have a word.

"Hi, my name is Phil Hunter, I was wondering if you'd show me to Ms Nixon's room?" he asked trying to act normally.

"I'm sorry Ms Nixon has expressly forbid visitors" the nurse answered.

"Even her own daughter?" Phil asked indication Abi in the corner.

The nurse looked confused for a moment, "Ms Nixon told me she didn't have a partner or children" she answered looking uncomfortable.

"If you let me see her for just a minute" Phil pleaded.

"I'm sorry I can't" she answered shaking her head.

"Well, —sorry what was your name?"

The nurse smiled wryly, "It's Betty" she answered.

"Ok, nurse Betty" Phil grinned at the name, no wonder she'd smirked, "Could you take a note to her, talk to her, ask her to change her mind? Please?"

"I guess I could take a note to her" she agreed. Phil pulled out his notebook and scribbled on a piece of paper:

Sam, I know you don't want to see anyone but please, Abi needs you. I know what you've been through, I read your statement (hope you don't mind, Neil put me on getting the evidence ready for the CPS) and I know this must be hard, but you have to remember you have a family that loves you. A daughter that needs you. Remember what you said to me in the tunnels when you saved my life, "_I have a daughter who needs me. Who can't get by without me, what have you got Phil, who's going to miss you?" _ You were right, no one would have missed me, you _do _have a daughter who needs you. But you also have a father and a sister…and a friend who love you too. We need you, all of us. Please, just let us talk to you. Or Abi at least.

Phil.

He folded it in half and handed it to her, "Thanks, this means a lot to me" he told her smiling, she smiled back and walked off. Phil decided to wait away from the rest of them, he didn't want to talk right now. He had envisioned telling Sam he loved her in so many different ways so many times but never like this, in a note delivered by a nurse. He had wanted to tell her when she had been found but he didn't think it was a good idea considering what she'd just been through.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Sam sat in the spotless hospital bed sighing with relief, she wouldn't have to see anyone she knew for almost a month. She wouldn't have to feel their eyes full of sympathy and disappointment on her. She lay back and drifted off to sleep. Strangely enough it wasn't Hugh who she dreamed about for the first time in ages, it was Phil. She was in the tunnels, adrenalin running through her. Her breath was coming in short bursts, her legs and back hurt from dragging Phil. He was lying in front of her, barely conscious. "Come one Phil, stay with me, talk to me" she encouraged.

"Did I ever tell you my mum was Catholic?" he asked her, his voice ragged.

"No, you didn't" Sam answered, trying to keep him talking.

"Yeah, she was always at mass, while my dad was out thieving." Phil answered.

"Really?" Sam asked, trying to keep him consciousness, he needed to stay with her if he was going to survive.

Phil shifted in her arms, his face coming up near hers. For a moment she was lost in his eyes, she drew nearer to him. But at the last moment a wedge in her back reminded her where she was, who she was with. "No, I'm not going to kiss you. I'll save your life but I won't kiss you" she told him, it had seemed so right at the time. If only she had kissed him then, taken a risk all this might have been avoided. If she had proved to Hugh that she could love, if not him then someone else, he wouldn't have seen the need to kidnap her daughter, to kidnap her and rape her.

Now Sam was in the office, it was Phil's first day back at work. He got out of the car and limped towards the front office. Ken was on her right and Rob on her left.

"How's his leg?" Ken asked.

"Is that the first time you've seen Phil limp Sarge?" Rob asked.

"No" Sam replied "I saw him in the tunnels" Rob snickered and Sam grinned, "Very funny, go on, get out of here." She sat down and was about to get on with her paperwork when she noticed Ken had something in his mouth.

"Ken…are they" he grinned at her exposing his vampire fangs, "Oh, they are" Sam smirked trying not to laugh too hard.

"You noticed, what do you think?" he asked his voice very muffled because of the fangs.

"I think, count," Rob replied "that you've been working too hard"

Ken removed the fangs, "Me an' the Mrs are going to a fancy dress party later, I haven't picked up the costumes yet so if either of you want to come-"

"Busy" Sam replied, shuddering at the thought.

"Ditto" Rob replied.

"Very" Sam answered trying her best to keep a straight face, although she didn't quite manage. Phil walked into the office a few minutes later, he ignored most people, walking over to his desk and getting on with the paperwork that had built up. Sam glanced around making sure no one was looking and then she walked over to him. "How are you?" she asked

"Fine, how are you after the whole Weaver saga?" Phil asked

"Well, having him chasing me in the tunnels isn't something I'm going to forget in a hurry, but you're the one who got shot in the leg, how are you?" Sam countered, she tilted her head flirtatiously. Sam knew that was exactly what had happened at the time, even the head tilt, though she hadn't been aware of it then.

"Oh, alright. Now that Weaver's dead I don't have to keep looking over my shoulder every five minutes." Phil replied smiling at her, in a nice way. He didn't look like he was imagining her naked as he had so many other times before and for some reason Sam wasn't pleased. She had liked his attention.

"Well, it's good to have you back" she told him laying a hand on his shoulder. He smiled up at her, his blue shirt complimenting his eyes. Sam hesitated then walked away, she knew if she stayed a moment longer she might say something she'd regret.

Sam drifted into consciousness as the nurse shook her, "Mmm?" she enquired sleepily.

"I was asked to give you this" the nurse told her smiling and she handed Sam a folded piece of paper. It was the same notepaper that was in Phil's notebook, it was Phil's handwriting. Sam's eyes scanned the note, as she took in what he was saying her eyes filled with tears. He still loved her, even though he knew what Hugh had done to her. He still wanted her. Sam didn't know why but that meant a lot to her. His words about Abi rang home too, he was right, she had a responsibility to her daughter and she had to get out of here, she had to be strong for Abi's sake if not her own. If Sam let what had happened to her control her life then he had won.

Struggling to sit up she saw the nurse was still standing nearby, "Shall I show them in?" she asked.

Sam shook her head, "No, I was wondering, can I have some discharge papers please?" Sam asked

"Well, we'll have to have some guarantee that you won't drink. One more episode like this could kill you" the nurse answered.

"I don't think that'll be a problem, I just saw the light at the end of a very long tunnel" Sam replied swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

"No you don't, you still have to be hooked up to that banana bag for another twenty minutes. You wait there while I fetch your discharge papers. Would you like me to inform your family?" the nurse told her pushing her back down on the bed.

"No, I want to surprise them" Sam answered, grateful she didn't have to sit up yet, her head was still pounding.

The nurse came back a few minutes later with her forms, Sam sat up and signed them. A few minutes after that the nurse said she could start getting changed.

Phil sighed, it had been almost twenty minutes since he had seen the nurse go to give Sam his note. If she hadn't changed her mind yet it was safe to say she wasn't going to. Rubbing his eyes he just wished that he had been able to protect Sam, to stop this happening to her. He glanced up at the doors again and what he saw made his heart leap, Sam was walking towards the doors, dressed. No one else had seen her yet, but she had seen him. She smiled shyly at him, "Thanks for the wake up call" she mouthed at him. He grinned and turned to look at Abi. She was sitting down next to her Granddad; Lynn was on the other side. All their mouths were taught lines, he strolled over to them casually, smiling. "Look over there" he told them. They all looked at the doors as they opened. Sam came out wearing a sheepish half-smile.

"Sorry if I scared you" she apologised. Abi came over and hugged her, she didn't hate her mum, she couldn't. And her mum didn't hate her, she hadn't tried to commit suicide, thank God. Maybe there was hope for them yet.

Sam didn't say anything to Phil as she left the hospital with her family but she did smile at him and that said more than she could have. _'We need to talk' _was her message but he knew there were lots of things the needed to talk about. It didn't give him any false sort of hope. He knew that there could never be anything between them, but it looked like they could at least be friends.

Phil watched as Sam strolled into CID after her two months off. The trial had finished a week ago and Hugh had got sentenced to life imprisonment. Phil hadn't seen Sam since that night at the hospital except for when he had come over to see Abi. She had pretty much avoided him and he couldn't help wondering if she felt strange around him because he knew what had happened between her and Hugh. She waded through the desks to her own, smiling at people on the way but being cool and distant at the same time. Sam watched people, trying to gauge what they were thinking. She had sent a message through Gina that she didn't want anyone from Sunhill attending the trial and everyone had respected that. They hadn't seen what had happened in the courtroom and for that Sam was grateful. The cross-examination had been the worse part. The defence had picked over every single detail of her relationship with Hugh, where they went for their first date, the person who'd made the first move, when was the first time that they kissed and who had initiated it. They also asked when they first slept together and who initiated that. At that point the prosecution stepped in and asked what the relevance was, Sam was saved having to answer any other embarrassing questions. She had a feeling that it was partly her argument, when she'd blown up at the defence lawyers, saying that she wasn't the first woman to have misjudged a man's character and later be blamed for what had happened to her. She was the victim in all of this and if they were going to pick apart her life like the scavengers they were then could they please _'go live in the bloody jungle'_ as Sam had so eloquently put it. She felt better about it, as if she had gotten back some of the power Hugh had taken from her that night. She knew she'd never be the same, but she was getting better and she was determined that she would use this to make her a better person.

Sam was well aware of Phil staring at her, he hadn't taken his eyes off her all morning and she was slightly unnerved by the attention but, at the same time, she liked it. She could sense him getting up and walking over towards her. Her heart started beating in time with his footsteps, louder and louder as he got closer and closer. She jumped as he laid his hand on her shoulder and he withdrew it as if scalded. "Sorry" he apologised, looking miserable, he should have remembered that she was likely to be jumpy and not appreciative of being touched, however lightly.

"No, it's ok. You just startled me, that's all" Sam replied turning around to see him properly. Her knee lightly brushed his leg and he glanced down for a split second, she didn't seem to notice so he continued "I was wondering what you're doing tomorrow night?" he asked.

"Nothing, why?" Sam asked, as if she didn't know.

"I was thinking you and I, maybe Abi and Maddie could go to the Sky Show. It should be a good one this year."

"And you were just wondering if we could go together?" Sam asked, her hidden question being _'do you have any ulterior motives?'_

"Yeah, just as mates, you know" Phil answered, reading her perfectly.

"I didn't think you were capable of having female friends" Sam told him flirting.

"Ah well, I guess you know me too well. Actually, I want to take you back to my place and unplug the phone" he joked.

Everyone within hearing distance looked up at this, how was Sam going to react to that? The old Sam would have just laughed it off and told Phil to get on with some work, he was obviously joking. But there was no guarantee Sam would see it like that this time, especially after what she'd been through. Sam was aware of everyone's eyes on her and she smiled and shook her head, "Don't you have work to be getting on with?" she asked turning back to her desk.

She could almost hear the collective release of breath as she continued typing up her notes.

Later Phil caught her again, this time in a more private area, a corner of the canteen. "I was serious about just as mates" he told her.

"So you're not going to make a move on me in the car then?" Sam asked grinning, tilting her head slightly as she remembered the dream she'd had in hospital.

"Well…not unless you give me permission to" he answered, only half kidding.

"Ok, then I think I feel safe enough not to go under the chaperoning eye of my daughter" Sam agreed. Phil smiled, that was the Sam he knew and loved.


	12. Chapter 12

again, thanks to all my reveiwers, hope you enjoy the chap, yada yada yada...please please please reveiw to this one too, even if it is to say you hate it.

Chapter 12

That night Sam had another good sleep, again with dreams of Phil. it seemed she was finally on the mend. She woke up, seeing the sun streaming through the curtains, it was a great day. She rolled over and looked at the alarm clock, she could either get up now and have a shower or lie in for ten minutes then have a shower. She decided to get up, that way she could spend longer in the shower. Throwing off the duvet she ran her fingers through her hair and turned the taps on. Soon she was in the shower, the hot water running down her body. She let it pound into her forehead for a few minutes then she got out her special shampoo and conditioner, they were the really expensive kind which she use only for special occasions. They had blonde highlights in them that accented her hair, great for nights out. That day at work she was working with Phil. There was a man and his wife had found out that he had a gambling debt and she had chucked him out. He had come to the stations and claimed that she was blackmailing him and when he hadn't paid the money she'd kicked him out. Investigating it, Sam and Phil soon found out there were others, a man who'd been having an affair, a man who'd been filing false compensation claims and they all led back to the same park. After getting permission of an obbo from Jack they started staking out the rubbish bin. Jo was in a flat over looking the park armed with a heavy-duty camera.

"You look like a lovely couple" she commented snarkily through their headsets.

"Why thankyou" Phil replied in a posh accent.

"A lovely couple of what?" Sam asked grinning.

"No comment" Jo replied laughing, it seemed Sam was back to normal, though she had heard horror stories of the things that had happened while she'd been away. Phil had his arm over her shoulders and Sam was playing mind games with him, letting her hair cascade over his neck for a while, moving it so it tickled. She heard his sharp intake of breath and removed it, instead choosing to rest one hand on his chest as they stopped near a bench. Phil looking into her eyes, finding it hard to concentrate.

"Top banana, here's a likely suspect" Jo said in their ears, distracting them.

Sam kissed Phil's cheek and walked away. He sighed and walked back to the car; that had been the plan after all, as soon as there was sight, split up.

Later at the station after they had arrested the council gardener, Sam was typing up her notes in the writing room as it was quieter than the CID office.

"I've been looking for you" Phil told her walking in and closing the door.

"Really?" Sam asked, grinning and getting up from her seat.

"Really, I was wondering-"

"Your place or mine?" Sam asked, leaning in and giving him a kiss. Their lips fit together perfectly, their bodies more so. She probed her tongue deeper into his mouth, he tasted…yummy. Like peppermints. She felt his hand running through her hair, and she moved her hands towards his shirt buttons. Slowly she slid her hand in, up towards his chest, trembling with anticipation.

Phil flinched as he felt Sam's cold hands on his body, he pushed her up towards the wall and Sam sat up gasping. The darkness rushed to flood her eyes, she couldn't see anything. Slowly things started appearing. The luminous numbers on her clock. The shape of the curtains covering the window. Sam tried to control her breathing, it was only a dream. Grumpily she rolled over and closed her eyes. She had liked that dream, why did she have to wake up from it terrified? There must be something seriously wrong with her.

"Mum, are you ok?" Abi asked worriedly. Ever since she had come home from the hospital she had kept a close eye on her mum. She had thought the nightmares had stopped, but apparently they were back.

"Just a dream" Sam murmured taking a sip from the glass of water beside her bed. "What are you doing in here anyway?"

"I had a bad dream too" Abi confessed.

"Want to tell me about it?" Sam asked, when she was little she had always found that talking to her dad helped after she'd had a bad dream.

"Only if you promise to tell me about yours" Abi replied.

Sam was too tired to argue, "Deal" she replied.

"I was wandering through this maze, the hedges kept shifting, moving around so I had no idea where I was. I came across a hedge that was cut to look like you. You were on your knees and you looked like you were pleading. Hugh was there with a chain saw and he looked as though he was about to cut your… the hedges… head off. But he turned around and there was another hedge, one that looked like me, and he cut that head off instead" Abi told her. She hoped her mum wouldn't read something into this, well, not more than she wanted her to. She wanted her mum to know that she needed her.

Sam reached over and hugged Abi, "Sweetie, you know I love you and I would never let him hurt you" Sam whispered in her ear.

"But that's the thing mum, you are. The way you're acting, you're shutting everyone out again. You're shutting me out and it's lonely. You're letting him get to you and it's affecting all of us" Abi told her mum tearfully.

Sam sighed, "I'm getting there, I really am. I was wondering do you want to go to the sky show tomorrow night –well it's probably tonight now" Sam corrected checking the time.

"Who else is coming?" Abi asked curiously.

"What makes you thing anyone else is coming?" Sam asked cheekily.

"You can't fool me that easily, I did occasionally listen to your profiling mumbles." Abi countered grinning back at her mum.

"I'll tell you later, it's my turn to tell you about my dream, then we need to talk" Sam stalled.

"Ok, so what happened in your dream?" Abi prompted.

"I was at work and I was working a case with Phil, we were trying to catch a blackmailer. I was…a lot more forward than usual."

"Meaning you were flirting with him" Abi asked smiling, this was brilliant, Sam was finally acknowledging her feelings for Phil.

"Yes" Sam admitted blushing.

"I knew it!" Abi squealed.

"What? You don't mind? You wouldn't think that I was… I don't know, taking him away from you?" Sam asked astounded.

"No, never, in case you hadn't noticed you two belong together, I couldn't stand in the way of that."

"That's…great. Erm…back to the dream." Sam changed the topic of conversation not quite sure what to think of her daughters enthusiastic response. "We were doing this obbo in the park…do you want all the details of that?"

"Yes" Abi replied, her tone suggested it was a stupid question.

"We were staking it out –the park that is. Pretending to be a couple taking in the sights and Jo was in a flat, watching with her camera. She said we looked like a lovely couple and Phil thanked her. I said _a lovely couple of what?_ I gave him a kiss on the cheek then walked off when the suspect was sighted. Later at the station I was writing up the notes and he found me in the writing room. He closed the door and I kissed him…he tried to take it further but I panicked and I woke up" Sam finished. "What do you think it means? I mean I really like him but I can't bear the thought of touching him. The thought of not being able to hurt more though" Sam pleaded with her daughter, hoping she would have some sort of wisdom to depart.

Abi thought about it for a moment, "I think your subconscious is mixing up what Hugh did to you to what you feel for Phil. Rape and love, they're two very different things. You need to realise that and take it slowly with Phil. Stop dreaming about him for a start otherwise you'll think about the dreams when you're together and it'll effect how you behave around him, you might push him away further than you already have".

"Who said _I_ pushed him away?"

"You've avoided him when ever he came to see me" Abi answered.

"Ok, in answer to your earlier question of who's coming to the sky show with us, Phil invited me, and you. He also might be bringing his daughter" Sam answered defensively.

"That's great… but I know you mum. You agreed to go without me didn't you?" Abi accused.

"I might have" Sam admitted.

"Then, thanks for the offer but I don't want to go. You two deserve some time alone if your relationship even has a chance."

"Abi, don't be silly. I want you to come" Sam tried to convince her daughter.

'You're the one being silly Mum, he's a good guy and he won't do anything that'll make you feel uncomfortable. Don't let the dreams get to you" Abi stood to leave.

"Ok" Sam relented, "Thanks."

"You're welcome" Abi replied.

"Remind me to ask you how school's going in the morning" Sam told her, rolling over and fluffing up her pillow a bit.

"Will do" Abi replied and closed the door smiling. Her mum was getting back to normal…no, better than normal. They were forming a bond now and she was glad, she was worried about her, she hadn't coped well after escaping from Hugh but hopefully that was all behind them.

chapter thirteen coming soon, sooner if you reveiw...hoping this bribe works coz this story is getting a miserable amount of reveiws compared to The Way We Were. pout


	13. Chapter 13

thanks to all who reveiws, much appreciated here's another chap to keep you happy, and in return can you keep me happy and reveiw again. please. thanks xx chaz xx :D

Chapter 13

Sam strolled into work early that morning, Phil wasn't here yet and she settled down to finish her paperwork. Every time the door opened she looked up, five times and it wasn't Phil. she got up to get herself a coffee but just then Phil walked through the door and handed one to her, "Milk, no sugar" he intoned. Sam's breath caught in her throat and she nodded her thanks, he already knew the way she had her coffee.

"Thanks" Sam smiled after she had had a sip, it was from the canteen, none of the crap from the coffee machine, apparently they were getting a new one soon, but that had been going to happen for a year already and it hadn't.

"So, you got warm clothes, or are we dropping past your place for you to change?" Phil asked in a low voice.

"My place" Sam answered, her eyes flicking up from the document she was reading. She had gone back to her desk and he was currently sitting across from her.

The rest of the day passed quickly, Sam was working a case with Jo, true, she and the DC hadn't been very friendly to start off but Sam was warming to her. She wasn't that bad really, a good copper with a great sense of humour and a killer instinct. They managed to get their man charged and bailed by four so Ken and Debbie both had to pay Jo twenty pounds, she had put money on it that she'd have the case wrapped up well before the end of shift. The woman sauntered over to Sam's desk and handed her one of the twenties, "Here you did half the work you deserve half the reward."

Sam smiled and shook her head, "You keep it."

"No I insist" Jo persuaded her, Sam smiled and took the money shaking her head.

Sam was waiting out in the car park, sitting in her car out of the cold. Phil arrived a few minutes later and she slipped into the passenger seat of his car, "I was thinking I'd drive home and you can follow me, that way I don't have to leave my car here over night" she said smiling.

"You're not just a pretty face are you?" he asked grinning.

"Phil, come on" Sam sighed, he hadn't stopped giving her cheesy comments all day, at least he hadn't said them when anyone else was around to hear.

"No, I'm serious, you have to learn how to take a compliment" he insisted, "Before… you would have just laughed and said thankyou or something, then added an insult at the end. Now you just tell me to stop being stupid, you're gorgeous and I intend to remind you constantly. What else are friends for?"

"If you keep this up I'm going to get a big head and I won't be able to fit through the door" Sam warned shaking her head.

"That's better" Phil commented happily.

"Alright, whatever, I'll see you in a while ok?"

"Sure" Phil answered smiling.

Sam slipped out of his car and back into hers, turning on the ignition and backing out of her park. The drive home was uneventful, though Phil got stuck in traffic and she arrived well before him. That was good as it gave her more time to get ready, Sam couldn't remember if Phil said he was stopping by his place first or not but she assumed he was when he still wasn't there after ten minutes, traffic in London was bad but not that bad. Sam looked through her cupboard and couldn't find anything appropriate, there was a post-it note on the mirror though. It was from Abi and it said:

_Hi mum, didn't know if you'd have time to pick an outfit out tonight so I did it for you. It's on the bed, I know you probably didn't look. I'll be home between 5:30 and 6 if I don't see you have a great time Abi._

Sam smiled, she was so thoughtful. Turning to look at the bed she rolled her eyes, Abi was right as usual, there wasn't really anything else she owned that would look as good as the outfit she had layed out. Loosely tailored grey pants with a black turtleneck sweater and her black coat. Abi had even laid out shoes –well boots. Sam's dark brown slip-ons with a slight heel. Sam quickly changed then went to the bathroom to fix her hair she heard the door open and Abi's voice called, "Anyone home?"

"No, they all went to the moon" Sam replied loudly.

"And why did they do that?" Abi asked coming in through the open doorway.

"Isn't it obvious? They ran out of cheese" Sam answered smiling.

"God, when are you going to leave that alone?" Abi sighed grinning, her mum was again making fun of her obsession with Wallace and Grommet when she was a kid.

"Never" Sam replied laughing.

"Here, let me do that" Abi took the brush from Sam who was apparently trying to make it part of her hairstyle it was that knotted in. it took Abi five minutes to disentangle it and a couple of minutes after that she'd finished. She had swept Sam's hair out of her face and pulled into a loose ponytail, best thing for it was it would be windy outside and anything else would just get blown out. Sam thanked her daughter, hugging her tightly, and went downstairs to make a cup of coffee. Phil rang the doorbell a minute later and Sam went to answer it. "SAMMIEEEEEE!" Sam was practically tackled to the ground as Maddie came flying through the door. The little girl flung her arms around Sam's neck, launching herself from the floor.

"Ugh, you're too heavy to do that" Sam complained half-heartedly though it really was good to see her again, they'd got on really well at Christmas and she hadn't seen much of her since.

"Sorry, Christine called me up at the last minute and I just couldn't say no to this little monkey" Phil apologised.

"Never mind, I'll see if Abi wants to come then" Sam said grinning and hoisting Maddie around onto her hip.

"You're a natural," Abi said from the dining room door.

"You've changed your tune" Phil remarked.

"Yeah, I figured it wasn't all her fault" Abi answered grinning.

"And I'm told that's mostly because of you" Sam imputed. "So, Abi, you in?"

"Sure, why not?" Abi agreed and she ran upstairs to put on something warmer.

"You look fantastic" Phil told Sam giving her a hug.

Sam shuddered, "Don't."

"Remember what I said before Sam—" Phil started.

"No—it's not that" Sam interrupted him. "You remember when Hugh was called in to help with that rape case? Well that's exactly what he said to me." Sam answered grimacing.

"Ok, sorry, you look amazing?"

"Thankyou" Sam said graciously. She heard the kettle boil, "You look like you need a coffee" Sam said smiling.

"See you're getting back in the swing of it, acceptance and insult, good." Phil told her laughing and following her into the kitchen "And some day you're really going to have to tell me your secret, I can't get her to shut up but she hadn't said a word since you picked her up." Maddie was still on her hip.

That night was the best night Sam had had since escaping from Hugh, the fireworks were fantastic and the rides were a lot of fun too. Maddie was pestering Phil to go on the claw with her but he kept refusing. "Come on, stop being such a wuss" Sam encouraged, "You aren't scared are you?" Phil shifted his feet uncomfortably.

"Oh my God – you are" Sam found this extremely amusing and after tormenting Phil she went on the ride with Maddie, Abi stayed to keep Phil company. Maddie and Sam came off with their faces practically glowing, the cool wind whipping in their faces had woken them up and they wanted more. Sam managed to convince Abi to come on the Mega Mixer with her and Maddie. Phil watched, his stomach jumping as they were tossed left and right, up and down, round and round and round and round. He turned away as it started to spin them upside-down. The three of them spent the rest of the night trying to convince him to come on one ride, while they went from one to another. Phil eventually consented to a ride on the wave spinner, it looked relatively tame when they had pointed it out. Sitting in the chair he gripped the chains tightly, the ride monitor started its engine and they rose up into the air.

"Hey, you didn't tell me this went up" he protested.

"Since when were you such a baby?" Sam called back.

"Since my cousin went on one of these sorts of rides and when she got off she was sick, I was only six and the time and she vomited on me."

"Oh, poor you, we'll have to fix that, we really will" Abi grinned evilly. Phil moaned and the ride started to spin. Phil's stomach was doing flip-flops, the world started spinning faster and faster and faster, the colours were merging together. He started feeling nauseous but then the wind hit his face. His vision cleared and his stomach settled, this was fun, lots of fun.

Sam laughed as she heard Phil whooping, "See, I told you this was fun" she called out but her words were lost in the wind.

"Let's go on another one" Phil said when they got off.

Sam grinned at Abi, "Looks like we've created another one" she remarked.

"NOOOOOOO!" Abi moaned theatrically.

"Another what?" Maddie asked.

"A few years ago we dragged _Raymond_ here and he didn't like rides either but we convinced him to go on one. He was addicted after that and he literally dragged us on every ride there was, we were here till gone midnight and…oh God, it's not an experience I'd like to repeat" Abi explained rolling her eyes.

"Who's Raymond?"

"An annoying person who wouldn't leave me alone" Sam answered. "I agreed to one date but I ended up bringing Abi too and he sulked the entire time, until we got him on the rides anyway."

"Oh, ok, I promise I won't do that, but one more, come on. The hangover?"

"Ok" Sam agreed and they hurried over to it. Unfortunately Maddie wasn't big enough to ride it so Sam volunteered to stay behind with her, Phil and Abi got on the ride and Sam and a grumpy Maddie watched. Sam bought Maddie some fairy floss to cheer her up and when Phil and Abi got off the ride they wet to find a good place to sit for the final fireworks display. Fireworks had been going all night but the last display was always the best. When the display was finished they went back to Phil's car and headed to Sam's place.

"Thanks for a great time Phil, it really helped" Sam said warmly as she got out of the car. Abi had already headed into the house, she hated waiting. Phil walked Sam to the door, Maddie had already fallen asleep in the car.

"You're welcome, and if you ever want to talk, I'm right here, night or day."

Sam smiled again, "Thanks, I guess tonight let me… forget most of it. You're good at that you know."

"I'm glad" Phil replied smiling. Sam debated whether or not to give him a kiss on the cheek, in the end not won out, but she felt better knowing she would get another chance. Phil walked back down the path as she closed the door, tonight had been good and he was glad he had managed to help, even if it was a little bit. Sam would never be romantically interested in someone like him but at least they could be friends.


	14. Chapter 14

Ok, what you have all been waiting for is finally here. And you should be extra especially happy coz it's a nice long chap, for me anyway. Again, thanks to all my reviewers, you know who you are. Welcome to any new readers, love to hear what you think of the story.

_Some little notes first, as have been rather slack lately and not replying to my reviews, ever so sorry. _

**samantha-nixon:** yes, yummy is a fantastic word. So is pokey. (Sorry random work I just come across in a book I'm reading. Made me laugh)

**Gemz:** glad you finally worked out the right setting. Always the risk of rating your story M, grrrr. But didn't think that the whole rape thing was appropriate for the younger readers, not that it stops them, but it stops people from taking my story off so, you do what you have to.

**Becca: **well Phil's got to be scared of something lol. Actually that did happen to me once, guy I was seeing was scared but I dragged him on rides them he loved them. Hehehe. Isn't real life great, when it acts as inspiration anyway, the rest of the time it's just a distraction.

**S-nixon: **getting there, I promise. You'll just have to be patient. Be glad I'm not like some writers. (Just found a story, 416 PAGES!! can you believe it, of ANGST. (not bill though) God that does weird stuff you your head. It took them over 100 pages just to get them together in the first place. Frustrating)

Ok, now on with the story:

Chapter 14

It had been two weeks since the sky show, Sam and Phil had spoken a bit at work and Sam had babysat Maddie while Phil and Abi went to the concert of a band she'd never heard of. Apparently they were like the holiest of holies. But apart from that nothing had actually happened. Sam was overjoyed at reaching her week milestone without a bad dream, in fact she hadn't thought of Hugh at all that week. Her counsellor told her that she was doing really well and didn't have to come back for another appointment if she didn't want to. To celebrate Sam decided to see if she could work up the nerve to ask Phil out on a real date. She had put it off again and again and she had sworn that if she didn't do it today she would… not drink coffee for a week. Abi had heard her muttering it to herself unfortunately, so now she actually had to stick to it as she couldn't get going with out her morning coffee, the question was how?

She had butterflies in her stomach all morning…buzzing around like they were bees. "But they aren't bees, they're butterflies." Sam told herself, God now she was talking to herself.

"Did you say something?" Phil asked scaring her. Sam jumped and Phil chuckled, steady on there, you almost jumped a foot off the ground, are you ok?" he asked placing his hands on her shoulders trying to calm her down. Sam's breath caught in her throat, "Fine" she rasped, "Didn't say anything"

"Come on Sam, you can tell me" Phil looked at her strangely, "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine, perfectly ok, fine" Sam answered blushing furiously.

"Me thinks the lady doth protest too much" Phil commented grinning. Sam squeaked and fled to the bathroom. She hadn't thought this would be so hard. She locked herself in a stall and tried to remind herself to breathe. She realised that she had never actually asked a guy out before. She hadn't dated anyone before Glen and anyone after him hadn't been serious, ever. They had all asked her she had agreed but it was only a fling. They never lasted, all had their stupid flaws, irritating laughs, bad hygiene habits, going and kidnapping her, being overly possessive. Peter Cavanaugh had probably been the worst—after Hugh—but even still, he had made the first move. She heard a noise, someone else was coming in. Sam opened the door and was about to splash some water on her face when the second door opened and Phil stood there.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked.

"You are acting weird, I was wondering if everything was ok?"

"So you came into the ladies toilets?" Sam asked.

"Yes, I came into the ladies toilets, so are you going to tell me what's up or not?"

"Not" Sam answered and barged past him, thankfully the corridor was clear when she stalked out, she didn't want people to see her being followed out of the toilets by Phil Hunter, no matter how she felt.

"Sam, wait" Phil called. "I know there's something, just spit it out" he told her pushing her into a deserted briefing room.

Sam sighed, "But what if you laugh?" she asked her voice small.

"I wont, I promise" Phil assured her smiling and leaning back against the door. Sam sighed and turned around so she wasn't looking at Phil, "Umm… what are… would you… I… umm" she stammered.

"Come on, it can't be that stupid" Phil encouraged. Sam bit her lip, what if he did think it was stupid? What if he said no or, worse, laughed at her? She didn't think she could take that.

"I have this… thing going with Abi… she overheard me talking to myself and… she's going to withhold my coffee if I don't… do this thing… but… I don't… I'm not sure…" Sam stammered.

"With hold your coffee, wow, it must be something pretty serious" Phil commented.

Sam grinned, "It's my own fault actually, I've been trying to do this thing for ages but I keep backing out. I was trying to convince myself to do it this morning, I told my self that if I didn't do it today then I wouldn't be allowed coffee for a week, unfortunately Abi heard me so I can't go back on it this time." Sam explained, Phil always had a way of making her feel at ease.

"Talking to yourself, now that's a worry. But what exactly is this thing that she wants you to do, that you want to do?" Phil asked

"Do you want to go out with me?" Sam blurted out. Shit, she'd done it now, she sounded like a stupid teenager, he really was going to think she was stupid.

"_What_?" Phil asked not sure he'd heard right.

"I mean…dinner" Sam squeaked, "Do you want dinner… go out for dinner… with food and… dinner" she stammered.

"You… what? Huh?" Phil asked confused, was Sam trying to ask him out? It sounded like it but she couldn't be. Why would _she_ want to go out with _him_?

"I erm…" Sam was a brilliant shade of red by now, "Abi, she was going to withhold my coffee," she said, her voice was still squeaking.

"Erm –let me get this straight, you were going to…not drink coffee if you didn't…ask me out?" Phil asked unable to believe this was happening. Suddenly Sam found this extremely amusing, it was what happened when there was a lot of tension or emotion around, she got really giggly. Sam cracked up laughing, nodding her head with tears of laughter running down her cheek. "Pretty much" she answered, she hadn't thought it was possible for her face to go any redder but it managed to darken a shade or two as she said it.

"So, dinner?" she asked.

"Love to, tomorrow night?" Phil answered trying not to laugh, unfortunately it was contagious. He cracked up laughing too. Sitting down next to Sam who had taken a seat on the table, he tried to calm himself down to no avail. "You should have seen your face, I didn't think you got embarrassed" he commented.

"Usually… I don't… it's just… I…" Sam collapsed into helpless laughter.

The door creaked open, "What's so funny?" Gina asked, her mouth twitching up at the corners, the sight of Sam and Phil lying on a table in stitches was… funny. This just made Phil and Sam laugh harder, Gina started laughing too, just because it was so funny to watch Phil holding her side and tears of laughter pour down Sam's face. Gary heard the laughter from the CID office, as his desk was the closest to the door. When he opened the door everyone else in CID heard it too, Gary went to see what was going on and Jo and Ken exchanged bemused looks.

"Now listen here, you two are supposed to be working, get back to your desk" Gina said as she tried to stop the laughter but was having great difficulty actually doing it.

"Sorry" Sam gasped. She and Phil managed to get just past the door before they cracked up laughing again.

"What's so funny?" Gary asked bewildered and they laughed harder as they headed back to CID. When they go there the laughter was pretty much under control but every now and again Sam would let out a giggle or Phil would let out a snort and it would set them off again. They tried to keep the noise down but, as usual, if you're trying to keep quiet people stare more. Eventually Neil resorted to sending Sam down to the writing room to do her paper work there, at least they wouldn't be continually setting each other off if they were separated.

"So, did you ask him?" Abi asked, she was sitting in the kitchen when Sam arrived home holding the coffee jar. Sam blanched, "You're taking my coffee with out waiting for an answer?" she asked annoyed.

"I just asked you" Abi countered.

"Yes, I asked him. Though why you're taking such an interest in my love life I'll never know." Sam sighed. Abi smiled and put the coffee jar back in the cupboard, Sam sighed in relief.

The next day Neil put her and Phil on a case of a burglary at the hospital, someone had broken into the pharmacy there and stolen some prescription medication but apparently, according to the CCTV, they hadn't left yet. The twist was while trying to escape he had knocked over some lab samples and the doctors suspected that he might be infected with TB. Phil offered Sam a mask as they walked along the hospital corridor.

"What's that for?" she asked laughing.

He put one on, "So you don't get infected" he answered, his voice muffled by the mask.

Sam laughed at him, "No thanks, I think I'll just keep my distance."

"But what if we have to arrest him?"

"Then we arrest him."

"But what if you get infected?"

"Then I'll make sure I don't get too close to you" Sam answered smirking. Steve was tailing them, and when they found who they were looking for, he cornered Phil. While Sam and Tony were questioning the man he pestered Phil.

"You were flirting with DS Nixon weren't you?" he accused.

"So what if I was?" Phil asked with a smirk.

"You have no chance" Steve told his brother.

"I don't think that way, you have to think positive you know, else you never get lucky" Phil told his little brother patting him condescendingly on the back. Steve shook his head, Phil was absolutely hopeless.

That night Sam got home as early as she could. Abi was waiting for her when she got there. "Look what I got on sale today," she said holding up the most gorgeous dress Sam had ever seen. "It's for your date tonight, and before you say it I know I shouldn't have but look at it as though your borrowing it for the night, it fits me too."

"Oh God Abi, I love it. Thankyou" Sam said hugging her daughter.

"Ok, no need to get soppy" Abi laughed and handed Sam the dress, "Go try it on."

Sam obeyed and came down the stairs a few minutes later wearing it. Abi gasped in surprise, her mum looked drop dead gorgeous. The dress was a light golden colour so it complimented Sam's hair and her skin tone really well. It had spaghetti straps with gentle silver threads woven through the material so it sparkled when she moved and it just skimmed below her knees. Sam did a little twirl then frowned, Abi wasn't looking very happy. "What's the matter, doesn't it suit me?" she asked disappointed.

"No, it's just…it looks better on you than it does on me, it's not fair."

Sam laughed, trust Abi to think of that as a downside. Back up in her room Sam looked at herself in the mirror. She wasn't sure about this dress, it revealed a lot of skin and it might convey the wrong message. "Abi, are you sure about this dress? It's not too…revealing?"

"Of course mum, you look great."

"That's what I'm worried about" Sam muttered. She didn't want Phil to think that they might…Sam just wasn't ready yet.

"Mum, I know what you're thinking and believe me you don't have anything to worry about. Phil's a good guy and he won't try anything ok. Anyway, if you let what happened to you ruin your life then Hugh's won." Abi told her mum gently as she fixed Sam's favourite necklace around her neck. It was a simple gold chain with a diamond-studded locket hanging from it. Sam's mum had given it to her after the entire Glen fiasco. It was a family heirloom and it had Abi's picture in it. Sam's favourite one from when Abi was five and a recent one of the two of them taken for Abi's seventeenth birthday.

"Yeah, you're right, I know that. But it's so hard to forget."

"You don't have to forget. Remember it and deal with it and it will make you a better person" Abi told her.

"Where did you learn that?" Sam asked astounded by her daughters…wisdom.

"From you" Abi answered smiling at her in the mirror.

"Thanks sweetie, you've been a great help" Sam said giving her daughter another hug. "I don't know what I would have done without you."

"You would have done what you always do and thrown yourself into your work" Abi answered with a wry smile. Sam grinned sheepishly and jumped when she heard the doorbell.

"I'll get it, you have to make an entrance" Abi said and ran down the stairs. Sam took a few breaths to compose herself then headed down stairs, she could hear Abi giving Phil the third degree and decided that she should probably stop her before she went too far.

Phil was grinning ear to ear, he thought it was sweet that Abi was taking on the protective mother role, if a little worrying. She had been forced to grow up so much in the past few months but she seemed to be coping really well. He didn't know why but something, instinct maybe, made him turn towards the stairs. Sam was descending and there was just one word to describe her.

"Wow" he exclaimed. His heart jumped when he saw her smile

"Thanks, you don't look too bad yourself" she said with a grin. Abi threw Sam her coat and she put it on then he offered her his arm and she took it happily. They walked out the door looking every bit the happy couple.

They arrived at the restaurant half an hour later and a waiter showed them to their table. It was in a secluded corner near a window overlooking the Thames.

"This is amazing Phil" Sam said taking her seat.

"I'm glad you approve," he said taking his. They ordered their meal then Phil cleared his throat, "Sam—you know I'm not really good with this whole first date thing"

"I thought you would have mastered it by now" Sam teased

"Yeah, but not with someone I actually like, someone I want for more that just a one-night stand" Phil replied grinning awkwardly.

"Ok, neither am I, though probably for very different reasons"

"Ok, glad we got that clear" Phil sighed relieved "So…um –what your favourite band…or singer? What sort of music do you like?" he asked. Sam smiled, his nervousness was catchy.

"I'm not really picky, I like a bit of everything, can't stand rap though"

"Me neither"

"If anything, I really like Jazz and blues. My dad absolutely loves Frank Sinatra, Billy Joel, though he loves Nat King Cole but I can't stand him. I grew up with them so I like them."

Phil grinned, he had never heard Sam talk about her family before but it was clear she loved her dad. "I love Jazz too, but my mum was a huge Beatles fan, and she loved Vince Jones and the Bangles so I grew up listening to them. I can't stand Diana Krall though."

By this time their meals had arrived and there was silence for a minute while they ate. From there the topic turned to movies and favourite actors then to politics though that was quickly trashed. After that it was their past, what schools they had gone to, favourite subjects, favourite and least favourite teachers, favourite memories. It turned out that they actually had a lot in common and the time flew. Eventually it was time to leave Sam got their coats while Phil got the bill then they left together. Sam was glad that she had worn the dress, she felt so special in it, though Phil's constant attention might also have something to do with that. She wished Hugh could see her now, she was getting her life back and more. This was probably the happiest she had ever been.

"Do you have to go home yet? Only there's something I wanted to show you" Phil asked nervously, the evening seemed to be going well but then again he wasn't a very good judge of that.

"I'm sure I can stay out a bit longer" Sam agreed smiling. They drove down towards the Themes and Phil pulled up at Skippers Wharf about ten minutes later. Getting out the car he walked around and opened Sam's door for her. She shivered a bit in the cold and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Leaving the car they walked to the end of the Wharf and stood there for a moment. It was beautiful, that waves were lapping up against the side and you couldn't hear the noise of cars. Just the wind and the water, the lights of the city reflecting on the water, casting strange shadows. "It's gorgeous Phil" Sam exclaimed.

"Not yet, wait a sec" he told her kissing her gently on the cheek then he reached for his pocket. There was a click sound as if a button was pressed down then he wrapped his arms around her waist, and turned her to face to bridge up ahead. This reminded Sam of a list Abi had pinned up on her wall. _Confessions of the heart_ it was called. It started,

_A kiss on the hand –I think you're beautiful. _

_A kiss on the lips –I love you_

_A kiss on the neck, I want you._

All the way down to; _holding your waist – I can't live without you_.

Suddenly there was a bang and a massive green firework lit up the sky, it was soon followed by a purple one, and then a blue. Sam was astounded, surely Phil hadn't organised this for _her._

She lent back against Phil, feeling his warmth through her coat. Interlocking her fingers with his she watched as firework after firework exploded. She could see some people had some outside to watch them too and felt special knowing they were for her. Eventually there was crackling in Phil's pocket. "They worked, I can't believe they worked. I guess time doesn't matter. Anyway, that's the last of them, hope you have a great night" Phil grinned and took a two-way radio out of his pocket.

"Thanks mate, you too" replacing the radio he tuned back to Sam who was looking at him in a completely different light.

"You organised this for me?" she asked amazed.

"Of course, I want you to know how special you are to me, you seemed to love the fireworks at the sky show so this seemed like a perfect idea" he told her placing another tender kiss on her lips.

"What did he mean, the time thing?" Sam asked confused.

"The fireworks were my grandfathers, he never used them but we don't know why. Matt was worried that they'd be too old and they wouldn't work but they did" Phil explained.

"Thankyou so much" Sam told him happily. She now knew that with Phil's help she could overcome the pain Hugh had caused her. He made her feel special and that was what Hugh had taken away from her. Sam wrapped her arms around Phil's neck drawing him in for a kiss. Their lips met and Sam's breath was taken away. Phil's lips were so warm and sweet, she felt as if she had electric sparks playing up and down her body leaving a warm tingling sensation. Phil's body fit to hers perfectly and where his hand rested on her cheek, it felt as if it was sizzling. Her tongue probed slightly into his mouth, his probed into hers. She pulled him in, deepening the kiss, forcing her tongue deeper into his mouth, fighting with his for control. She felt his hands wrap around her waist and she found she needed to concentrate on breathing.

"Wow" Phil breathed when they finally came up for air.

"Mmm" Sam murmured and bit her lip, smiling impishly. She moved her right arm around his waist and her left hand around the back of his head, pulling him in for another kiss

When the two of them came up for air again Phil wrapped an arm around her waist, "Come on, it's cold, we'd better get home" Sam smiled and nodded.

Phil drove Sam home, walked her to her door and kissed her goodnight. Watching him walk down the path Sam wondered when had her luck changed. She couldn't believe that life could go from being so horrendously awful that she didn't want to get out of bed in the morning to so amazingly wonderful she didn't want to go to sleep in case she woke up and it was all a dream. Sam opened the door and walked inside, closing the door and then peeped through the window, watching Phil drive away. "So, how was it?" Abi asked making Sam jump.

"Amazing" she answered after getting over her shock. Abi started pestering Sam for details and she wouldn't leave it alone until she had gotten a word for word account of the entire evening. Finally Sam headed up to bed, she would have sweet dreams till morning.


	15. Chapter 15

Ok, please don't kill me. This will be the last update for a few days, I'm going away from Easter, somewhere with no power, running water, facilities in general. It's a nice happy fluffy chapter for you though. Will update again when I get back.

Chapter 15

Then next morning when Sam walked in to the office she overheard part of Debbie and Jo's conversation. "Did you see the fireworks last night?" Debbie asked.

"Yeah, wonder what the occasion was?" Jo replied.

"I heard it was some official function, the mayor and his _selected guests_ were there" Suzie put in.

"No, it wasn't. And I would appreciate you working, not gossiping" Neil reprimanded.

"How do you know it wasn't?" Suzie asked, she was the only one who would be able to get away with a question like that, though everyone else was thinking the same thing.

"Because the mayor was having dinner with me, my wife, and her father." Neil said and stalked off.

"I heard that some guy put on the fireworks for his girlfriend" Sam interrupted. Phil's head shot up, "Girlfriend?" he mouthed. Sam just smiled and he grinned back. He was happy to hear her classify herself as his girlfriend.

"Oh, that would be _so_ romantic" Debbie sighed.

"Mmm –which is exactly why it's probably not true" Suzie added.

"Why do you say that?" Jo asked.

"Because, guys aren't that romantic, it's just not plausible" she replied.

"You _are_ a cynic aren't you" Sam said and walked off, hiding a smile.

Later Sam was in the canteen and she heard the relief talking about the fireworks too. It was practically the same conversation as they had had in CID but Honey was the one sighing over how romantic it would have been and Yvonne was the one being the cynic. Steve was sitting in the corner, taking tips. Sam hoped he wouldn't try and use his grandfather's fireworks, he would be so disappointed when he learned Phil had get there first. The topic of conversation turned, "Have you seen Phil today? He looks like all his Christmas's have come at once."

"Yeah, tenner says he got lucky" Yvonne remarked grinning.

"Nah, believe me, I know my brother and if he had got lucky he would be telling everyone and shouting it from the rooftops." Yvonne sighed, she knew he was right.

Sam smiled to herself, she was the luckiest woman alive. From what she'd heard round the station that day most of the other female officers didn't think a guy could be that romantic and the others were sighing and wishing they had a guy that would do that for them. Most of the guys were encouraging the rumour that it was an official function and then bitching that whoever had done it was giving them a bad name and showing them up. Sam found it amusing to watch Phil, he had been happy this morning but when she had dropped the girlfriend comment he had become happier, she hadn't even believed that was possible.

Phil was over the moon, Sam considered herself his girlfriend, meaning that she considered him her boyfriend. He hadn't expected that so soon and now he was beginning to get nervous, the first date had gone extremely well now he was worried that Sam was going to expect more of the same. He couldn't do that every time, but it was a good nervous. Little did he know but Smithy and Gina had a bet that they could get to the bottom of the fireworks first. Smithy took the most obvious way, asking the Fireworks Council who had registered permission to use fireworks last night. The registered name was a Matt McFarlane but he still had to find out who the girl was. He looked up Matt McFarlane on CRIMIN but he wasn't there so he resorted to the telephone book. Stopping by his house he knocked on the door. "How can I help you?" the man who answered the door asked.

"You Matt McFarlane?"

"Yes."

"I have this bet going with my boss and I was wondering if you could help me out. We're both trying to find out who the couple was that used the fireworks last night, reckon you could help me out?" Smithy asked

"You're a copper aren't you?" the man asked with a grin. "You from Sunhill?"

"Yeah, so who was the girl you were with" Smithy asked.

"Sorry mate, it wasn't me. I was doing it for a friend."

"Can you give me a name?"

"I was warned someone might come asking, sorry, can't help you" he said and closed the door. Damn! Smithy sighed, now he was back to square one.

Gina decided to try a different tack, she had heard it was Sam who had first voiced the rumour that it was a couple who had organised the fireworks. Or more specifically, a guy who had organised it for his girlfriend so she decided to ask her.

"Who did you hear that rumour from, the one about the guy organising those fireworks for his girlfriend?" she asked Sam when she cornered her at her desk.

"Umm, I don't really remember…I think it was from Abi" Sam answered nonchalantly.

"Who did she hear it from?"

"I'll ask" Sam told her and picked up the phone. She had a one sided conversation with Abi, pretending her daughter knew what she was taking about. Abi just asked her mum what was going on but assumed correctly that her mum was being pestered when Sam didn't answer her question. "She heard it from her friend Charmane, who saw it, apparently there was a couple on the wharf who arrived just before the fireworks started and they left just after they finished. The guy seemed to have a two way radio which he was using to communicate with the people setting off the fireworks."

"Did she say what they couple looked like?"

"Umm…" Sam decided to have a bit of fun, she knew Gina still like Jonathan but wasn't going to swallow her pride and fight for him unless she had some competition. "The guy was tall, skinny with grey hair, older. The woman was blonde, also older, apparently she couldn't really see her though. The guy was wearing a tan coloured coat, Armani according to Charmane. And Abi says she knows her labels. That's all I know."

Gina felt her heart sink, the description Sam had just relayed to her was a exact match for Jonathan, right down to the Armani coat. He had found someone new already, it was probably a good thing though. At least he wouldn't be too upset when he found out about her cancer. God listen to her, she was acting as though she cared, Gina told herself, she wouldn't admit that deep down she did care.

Back in her office, Gina rang up Jonathan's house, she was determined to win the bet no matter what. To her surprise it wasn't Jonathan who picked up, it was Chloe. She'd be seventeen by now. "Hey Chloe, its Gina Gold, is your dad there?"

"No, he is going to kick himself though."

"Why?" Gina asked confused.

"He's been hanging for you to call for the last six months" Chloe answered, that was the last answer Gina had been expecting. "Do you want me to pass on a message?" Chloe asked.

"Erm… no, thanks" Gina said, "Can I ask you one question though, where was your dad last night?"

"Here with me" Chloe answered. She could tell from Gina's tone of voice that a date with her dad wasn't the reason she had called but she knew her dad was miserable without her and it was probably a good idea to let her know that. Maybe she'd do something about it if she knew.

"Ok, thanks" Gina said and hung up thoroughly confused. So it wasn't Jonathan on the wharf last night, then who was it. Suddenly it hit her, she had been so preoccupied with thoughts about Jonathan that she hadn't been paying attention to Sam. She knew as soon as she thought about it that Sam was lying, the question was, why?

That was obvious, it was her on the wharf, but who was the guy? Gina thought but she couldn't come up with a single name. She'd have to work on that problem, but later, after she had delt with Jonathan. She would just cancel the bet with Smithy, he wouldn't have anything. Gina smiled to herself happily, this meant that Sam was finally getting over the whole Hugh Wallis fiasco. Thank God.

That evening after work Sam invited Phil over for a meal, she was glad Abi had agreed to cook because she wasn't very good, the only thing she knew how to make was pasta and even then half the time she stuffed it up. Phil accepted, as long as he was allowed to bring Maddie because it was his turn to look after her this weekend. "Of course you can bring her," Sam said, why would he think he couldn't?

Dinner was great, Sam helped out with the cooking by cutting up vegetables with Maddie, and Phil took charge of the chicken leaving Abi with her specialty sauce. It was a great laugh and doing the dishes turned into a water fight which Sam and Phil had to clean up while Abi kept Maddie entertained. The two girls got along really well which was great and Maddie and Sam ended up falling asleep in front of the television. Phil carried Sam up to bed while Abi carried Maddie, she had offered up their guestroom for the night and Phil had accepted.

And yes the guest room. Nothing else is happening. Not this damn soon. I'll get there. I swear. Still got a few hurdles to get over first. Hehehehe. Thanks to all who have reviewed, and here's a virtual Easter egg to you all in the spirit of the holiday. : )


	16. Chapter 16

ok before we get going, just a few acknowlagements:

sam-gwen-nixon: here's that update you asked for, do you want fries with that? coz if so here are a few virtual ones, if not send them back to the address on the back.

Gem: thankyou, i did have a great easter break, i made 3 new friends, go me, and one of them is sending me dvds hehehehe. smug grin also managed to step on a broken beer bottle and totally kill my foot.

S-nixon: gina is such a fantastic character is she not? love her so much. also liked jonathan and thought he should have stuck around. hence why i'm including him in my story...my own personal playground. love it. :P

samantha-nixon: thankyou, had a great holiday, for details refer to the above. secondly, glad you agree with me, not many writers seem to, what with having them get married withing a month of going out, or getting them engaged when they aren't even going out...rolls eyes. and please, use your imagination. she coudl wake up and they could talk or what ever and then things could progress from there, that happens in lots of stories and that was a note to let them know it's not going to happen in this one. and i am very very happy that so many people seem to love this fic. (still can't really figure out why)

now we have that out the way, on with the story. and please don't kill me for the subpairing, it worked with the story and i wrote it before they introduced the other characters. runs for cover in bunker just in case

Chapter 16

Six weeks later:

Sam was talking to Phil about the case she was working on in the canteen at lunch when he shushed her. "Listen" he said indicating Steve and Honey. They were standing up and trying to get everyone's attention.

"Do you know something I don't?" she asked playfully.

"Wait and see" he said grinning, he looked –proud.

Sam turned to Steve and Honey to hear what they had to say, they had been going out for about a year now, since a bit before Jim and June's wedding and she had a hunch she knew what their announcement was.

"K, listen up please, Honey and I have an announcement" Steve started.

"We're getting married and we'd like to invite you all along" Honey said grinning. A cheer rose up from everyone in the room and congratulations were passed to the happy couple.

"You knew didn't you?" Sam accused.

"He's my brother, of course I knew" Phil replied.

"So, are you going to be the best man?" she asked grinning, there was nothing like a wedding to cheer everyone up.

"He asked me to, but I could tell he wanted to ask a mate, so I told him to ask a mate."

"That was sweet of you" Sam said grinning, tracing the lines on the palm of his hand. Everyone else was too busy to notice.

The entire station was in good cheer for the rest of the day, except Neil but he had a good excuse. Everyone already knew his wife was sick and the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. Sam also noticed that Andrea didn't seem as happy as she should considering she had just accepted a bridesmaid spot along with Yvonne, but she dismissed it.

That afternoon there was a massive public uproar. A ten-year-old kid, Daniel Johnson, had died of a drug overdose and all the mothers were frantic. Unfortunately for Phil he was put on that case and he was practically pulling his hair out. Sam was already working on a shoplifting case and she had an obbo that afternoon so she was spared.

After an hour had passed Sam was bored to the point of screaming. She sent a text message to the DI asking if she could possibly be put on another case.

Phil went to the DI's office to ask if he could also be put onto another case, this one was driving him up the wall.

"Who did you have in mind?" Neil asked raising his eyebrows.

"No one in particular" Phil answered after a moment, he had been going to recommend Sam but she would probably hate this case as much as he did.

Neil smirked, he was glad Phil hadn't tried to stick someone else on this case because he knew he would want back in as soon as there were no more angry mothers to 'interview'. He told Phil to go back to his desk and he'd see what he could do, then picked up his phone. He talked to the manager where Sam was doing the obbo and he agreed that the officers could swap.

"Phil, I want you to get down to the shop where Sam's running that obbo, you're taking over there and she's coming back here ok."

"Ok" Phil agreed with a sinking heart Sam was going to hate him for this.

He arrived at the shop a while later and found Sam easily, it was like having a Sam radar, at least he wouldn't lose track of her in a crowd. It seemed she had a Phil radar too because as soon as his eyes landed on her she looked up with a smile. His heart started beating faster, no other woman had ever had this effect on him, not even Cindy. She was wearing a black skirt with sensible black shoes, only a slight heel and a white shirt with an aqua vest.

"Hey you" Sam said walking towards him and giving him a kiss.

"Hey" he said, his heart sinking again.

"What are you doing here?" she asked sensing something was wrong.

"I'm here to take over this case, you've been put on the drugs thing" he told her staring at his shoes.

"Oh" Sam answered, she could see Phil wasn't happy, he probably wanted to be on the drugs case instead of the shoplifting. And she had taken that away from him. She should go, that was what she did if she thought she was going to hurt someone, or she had already she pushed them away.

Phil watched as Sam fled, now he had done it. He knew she was competitive but he hoped she would get over this.

Back at the station Sam threw herself into the case and she had soon spoken to all the mothers, they had insisted on it even though it was a pointless waste of time, and started interviewing his school friends. The first few weren't much help but his best friend, Sean was. He told Sam that Daniel's sister had just moved back home and that she used to be on drugs but no one else knew that. Sam went round to the home to interview the sister and she confessed that Daniel had been poking around her room, he must have found the drugs under her mattress. Thankfully, due to the Super's stand on drug users, Sam didn't have to arrest her. She just had to make sure she was getting help. Sam checked in with the station and asked them to look up and rehabilitation clinics with vacancies. There was a spot available at a rehabilitation clinic near by and Sam offered to give her a lift.

Sam had been back at the station for five minutes when Phil arrived. Everyone was congratulating him on a great success. Apparently he had seen a woman pocketing a pair of sunglasses and he had been about to nick her when he remembered a case from a while back where some guy had a shoplifting gang. So he had waited and sure enough the woman went to a white van that was parked in the car park and handed in the sunglasses and was handed cash. He had called for back up and they had nicked the entire gang. It had been the same guy running the operation as last time, some people never learn.

Phil noticed that Sam wasn't congratulating him, not that he wanted her to, he just wanted her to talk to him. She probably thought he had taken the case away from her then gotten all the glory, which he had. And she had done a lot of work on that case too, also she had been stuck with the drugs case and he had heard what had happened with that. She hadn't even got to bang up a criminal.

At that moment Jack walked in, "I need to volunteers for an obbo tonight, any takers?" he asked. Sam's hand flew up in the air at the same time Phil's did. Jack grinned evilly, he knew Sam and Phil weren't exactly the best of friends, and you could probably call that the understatement of the year.

"Ok, you two"

Well here was his chance to force them to work together, then maybe they could put aside their differences and work as a team. He was a bit dubious to use Sam after what she had been through but he knew that if he used that as an excuse not to send her she'd be very annoyed, he was sure she could handle herself. If she ran into any trouble there would be other officers there to help.

In the debriefing in his office Sam and Phil were looking equally nervous. Sam was worried that Phil was going to blow up at her because she had gotten him transferred to the shoplifting case and Phil was worried that Sam wasn't going to talk to him because he had gotten her transferred to the drugs case.

"Ok, here how it works, Steve and Honey are one team, you two are the other. I want you to avoid talking to each other if possible because if one team is sussed then we still have the other. Contact by mobiles is ok in emergencies and we will be waiting outside for you to give us the signal. You got that?"

"Yes" they replied simultaneously.

"Ok, good. See you there at eight" he said and they left.

"Pick you up at seven-thirty?" Phil asked.

"Sure" Sam agreed and left to get ready, this was going to be a long day, especially if she and Phil were having their first fight, as a couple anyway and it had only been six weeks.

don't tell me you didn't know it was coming. you knew it was. you want another chapter, you know what to do. i'll give you a hint, it's something to do with that button to the leftish side of you screen, down the bottom.


	17. Chapter 17

Oooooo! MILESTONE! ...yeah, don't ask. Am just happy is all. Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter, all three of you. I'm feeling VERY generous today so be very very very happy. oh, and nearing the end of this chapter there is a little M rated content, though it's kinda important. and i hate to spoil the chapter i am unfortunately obligated to. rolls eyes enjoy

Chapter 17

They arrived at the club at eight having driven the entire way in silence, Sam didn't know what to say and neither did Phil. Steve and Honey were already in there and having a ball. Sam and Phil walked over to a corner of the room and sat down, on opposite ends of the couch. Phil excused himself and got them a drink, he knew all Sam's favourites by now and she smiled at him as he passed her the drink. She looked drop dead gorgeous in a black dress with wide straps, silver trim on the bottom matched her jewellery, she was wearing a simple silver chain, the one he had given her and small silver hoops that sparkled in the flashing multi coloured lights.

From over the other side of the room Honey sighed, she knew Phil and Sam disliked each other to the point of grating and she had wondered why Jack had put the two of them on this case. But she hadn't thought that they would completely wreck the obbo because of their little feud, they knew how much was riding on it. To hell with it, this constituted and emergency if there ever was one. She called up Sam on her mobile and saw her snap into police mode. "What is it?" she asked.

"Do you want this obbo to go well?" Honey asked.

"Yes, of course" Sam answered slightly confused.

"Then pass the phone onto Phil and what ever he asks you to do next agree, ok?"

"Okaaaay" Sam agreed dubiously and passed the phone onto Phil.

"What is it?"

"Ask Sam to dance" Honey instructed.

"But–"

"Just do it."

"Ok, ok" Phil agreed and hung up.

"What did she want?"

"She told me to ask you to dance."

"Ok…are you going to?"

"Do you want to dance?"

"Love to" they got up just as the song changed and Sam smiled, it was _in the mood_, she loved this song.

Honey and Steve watched in awe as Phil spun Sam around the dance floor.

"Did you know he could do that?" she asked him.

"No" he answered, staring at his brother with a look of amazement. He was _good_. And Sam was good too, _really_ good. They looked like they had practiced this but that was impossible…right?

When the song ended Phil was just dipping Sam after a spin and held it. She was smiling up into his eyes and he knew that was going to be one of his favourite memories. They straightened up and gradually grew aware that everyone was watching them, and clapping.

"Ok, as you know folks, every dance night we have a prize for the best dance, if any one thinks they can top that yell out, otherwise I think we have some new champs."

There was silence and after a moment the DJ came over and held up Sam's hand, "Congratulations you two, here's your trophy and I hope to see you here next month as defending champions."

"Erm… maybe" Sam stuttered, she was still breathless. Who knew Phil had that in him? It was amazing.

Sam and Phil walked back to their couch, the couple who had taken it kindly moving for them.

"Wow, that was amazing, where'd you learn to dance like that?" Sam commented sitting down.

"My cousin taught me, she's a famous dancer, maybe you've heard of her, Taylor Parker."

"Taylor Parker is your cousin, does Abi know? She idolises her" Sam laughed, it was good that they had broken the tension.

"Yeah, you know that's the first thing you've said to me all night" Phil remarked slightly hurt.

"That's the first thing you've said to me" Sam protested.

"Yeah, ok. I'm sorry," Phil said at the same time Sam said "I'm sorry."

"No, I am" they both said simultaneously.

"Ok you go" Sam relented.

"I'm sorry I got you transferred to the drugs case, I didn't do it on purpose it just –happened."

"What? You wanted the shoplifting case? I thought you were mad at me because I asked the DI to take me off the shoplifting case and you got stuck with it" Sam exclaimed.

"Really, oh God, we have been idiots haven't we."

"Absolutely" Sam agreed laughing.

Honey watched happily from across the room, at least they looked like a couple now, not like a pair of undercover cops.

Sam and Phil were chatting away happily when they heard arguing coming from the back room. Wordlessly they decided to check it out. They could hear two voices, one of them was the DJ and the other was the owner, Simon Cooke. He was the guy Jack wanted to nail.

"You idiot, I told you they were coming into town today. That shipment was supposed to be here"

"Sorry, I didn't know they'd get a flat –we've sent someone to pick them up it just means the coke'll be here tomorrow morning." The DJ protested.

"You idiot, what if someone was listening to that?" Simon asked but thankfully he didn't check. They exchanged a few more words then Sam and Phil heard the DJ coming, he would definitely find them and there was no where to hide. Sam didn't have time to think of a plan so she just did the first thing that came to mind. Placing her hands on Phil's shoulders she pushed him against the wall and kissed him. It was just in the nick of time. The DJ told them to shoo but they ignored him and he went on his way, they often got couples back here looking for a bit of peace and quiet. Sam and Phil parted once they were sure he was out of sight.

"Wow" Phil commented.

"Yeah, Jack didn't have info about a big shipment did he?" Sam asked.

Phil pouted, "I wasn't talking about that" he complained mockingly.

Sam gave him another quick kiss "Ok, you weren't so bad yourself" she agreed and he cheered up. Just then there was a noise behind them and this time it was Phil who initiated the kiss. A young boy was walking down the corridor, he looked about nineteen or twenty. He ignored Sam and Phil and entered the back room were Simon Cooke was.

"Hey, I heard you could get some gear here…I was wondering if…"

"Yeah, sure." There was the sound of money exchanging hands, or at least that was what Sam and Phil's brains provided them with as they strained to hear more.

"Ok, that's get you two scores, I'll take that and you can go up to the DJ and ask him to play the Chicken dance, he'll fix you up" Simon Cooke instructed.

"Sure, thanks" the boy agreed and he left. Sam and Phil had been listening intently so when they heard him coming they started kissing again. Sam had pulled away from Phil as soon as the door shut because she knew it would be hard to keep her mind on the job if she could taste Phil's lips on hers. It did strange things to her mind, and the rest of her too.

"I reckon we got enough to call the boys in blue in, don't you" Phil remarked, linking his fingers with hers.

"I think so" Sam replied squeezing his hand. They walked back down the corridor just enjoying the fact they weren't actually fighting. When they got back in the club Sam got her phone out and called Honey to tell her to go up to the DJ and request the song _Chicken dance _while Phil got out his phone to tell Jack to send in the rest of the troopers.

Jack was very happy with the result and he invited everyone to the Canley Arms for a drink, his shout. Sam and Phil tried to refuse but they were coerced into it. When they arrived Sam could see Honey, Yvonne, Steve, Jack, Jo, Gina, Gary, Smithy, Ken and Andrea laughing over something but they stopped when Sam and Phil approached. Sam pretended not to know what they were talking about but she had overheard _dance_ so she had a pretty good idea.

"What's so funny?" she asked innocently.

There was a moment of silence the Yvonne diplomatically said, "Honey was telling us about this dance contest, apparently you won."

Sam looked baffled for a moment then produced the trophy, "What? You mean this?" Phil turned away trying not to laugh.

"What, you mean you actually won that?" Jack asked amazed.

"Yeah, you should have seen them…" Honey started, then she stopped. Sam knew by the look on her face that she wasn't going to like her idea. "Wait, you don't have to take my word for it, they can give you a demo."

"I don't think so," Sam said shaking her head emphatically.

"Come on, I'll give you a dance off… if I can find a partner – Gina you up for it?" Jack asked.

"Don't even think about it, there's absolutely no way."

"Oh, but you're so good at it, all you need is the costume with the tassels," Gary said reminding her of the time he and Nick Klein had found her at her line-dancing club. Most people just looked confused but those who knew the story burst out laughing.

"I thought I told you to never mention that to anyone" Gina said in good humour.

"Woops" Gary apologized, ducking his head in shame.

For a moment Sam thought she and Phil were going to be let off the hook, Jack resumed looking for a partner, then Jo piped up, "I'll give it a go Guv."

"What'd you say then?" Jack asked. Sam looked back inquiringly at Phil who was choking on laughter. "Yeah, ok, as long as you go first." Phil agreed after a moment.

Jack and Jo took the floor to hound dog and they were pretty good, but Sam and Phil shared a secret smile they were better.

Ken gaped, had all of Sunhill gone nuts? He had been laughing at Jack, that had been funny, but this was beyond belief. Sam and Phil were… there was no other word for it – amazing. Their movements were so fluid it was like… watching water in human form _where had that come from?_

Each knew what the other was going to do and anticipated it, it was like it was practiced but that was impossible. And on top of that they seemed to be enjoying each other's company which was beyond weird. He went back to his drink as everyone rose to congratulate them, even Jack grudgingly admitted that they had won hands down. Ken suspected it was because he didn't want a rematch. A while later he looked up, both Sam and Phil had disappeared, they had probably gone home, Sam wasn't usually up for long nights after the whole Hugh disaster and Phil had given her a lift to the club so he was probably driving her home.

Sam and Phil arrived at her house ten minutes after they had managed to sneak out of the bar. Phil smiled, he had been about to leave when Sam tugged him back for a goodnight kiss. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck and he wrapped his around her waist. Sam could taste Phil, it was a mixture of alcohol and the peppermints he had become addicted to. She pushed her tongue in deeper, her body tingling. Her brain tried to focus on searching for the keys but she found that she needed her entire concentration to remember to breathe.

Phil couldn't believe that someone could make him feel like this, his legs felt weak at the knees but it made him feel stronger at the same time, like he was drawing strength from Sam. He could taste her on his lips, a mix of alcohol and those jubie fruits Honey had given her in the bar. Sam stumbled back leaning on the door and almost fell as it gave behind her. He thought he could see Abi sneaking upstairs and he wondered if it was her who had opened the door but that was quickly dismissed from his brain as he felt Sam tugging at his shirt. She was undoing the buttons and he felt his breath catch in his throat, what he had been dreaming about for months was about to happen…but he had to know Sam was ready, it wouldn't be fair other wise. She was on the fourth button when he pulled away. "Sam, are you sure?" he asked hesitantly.

A smile played across her lips, Abi was right, Phil was a good guy, a great guy, and he would never do anything to hurt her. Sam had been thinking about it for a while and after tonight she knew she was ready, but it was still sweet of him to check. She kissed him again and resumed undoing his shirt.

_Guess that answered my question_, Phil thought and started fiddling with the zip on the back of Sam's dress. They had reached Sam's bedroom by the time Phil's shirt fell to the floor, closely followed by Sam's dress. Sam started pulling at Phil's belt, her lips caressing his neck while he ran his hands up and down her back gently. His pants fell to the floor and Sam pushed him down onto the bed, pausing to take of her bra before she followed. Phil kissed her passionately then he started kissing her neck, working his way down. Sam flinched, that was what Hugh had done too. Phil stopped, "Maybe you're not ready," he said holding her tightly. Sam bit her lip and buried her head in his shoulder, "I'm sorry" she whispered.

"It's not your fault, you've been through a lot and no one can expect you to get through it just like that."

"But I do, I expect that. I hate this, I just want it to go back to the way it was." Sam said softly, tear falling down her cheek.

"Hey, shhhh. I'm here for you ok, and I'm gonna help you through this" he whispered back to her. Sam nodded and wiped her eyes then she kissed him tenderly. "Thanks, now where were we?"

"Sam, do you really think that's a good idea?" Phil asked.

"Phil, you said yourself you were going to help me through this. This is the best way I can think of, I should face it instead of running away and if I let what Hugh did control me then he's won. As long as we take it slowly I don't have any problems with it so you shouldn't either" Sam said gently, running a finger slowly down Phil's chest.

"Alright, as long as you're sure" he said kissing her gently.

"I am" she whispered and kissed him back, deepening it.

Phil woke first the next morning, he lay there for a moment watching Sam sleep. She looked so peaceful and happy. He was glad because Abi had told him that she had had nightmares for weeks after she had come out of hospital. Despite her claims of wanting to face the problem, he could tell that it still bothered her. Eventually he had just let her lead, things had got better after that and he hoped that this was helping Sam put what had happened behind her rather than bringing it all back.

He got up and slipped on her dressing gown, gently padding down stairs he put on the kettle. Abi followed a few minutes later, "So, how is she?" she asked concerned.

"Sleeping, I know she says she's over it but I think she's trying to rush things a bit too much" Phil answered. Abi nodded, she had thought as much but it was good to know she was dealing with it rather than throwing herself into work and putting it to the back of her mind.

Sam woke to find the other side of her bed empty but Phil was sitting on the chest at the bottom of her bed eating toast.

"How long have you been there?" she asked.

"Not long, you looked so peaceful I didn't want to wake you. You hungry?"

"Famished, what is there?"

"Cinnamon toast, Abi said it was your favourite."

Sam smiled_, 'trust Abi to be giving Phil help in winning her over, not that he needed help,'_ she thought. He looked so adorable in her navy blue, silk dressing gown, she lent over and gave him a kiss, pinching some of the toast that was on his plate.

"I love you, you know that" she said smiling and taking a bite of toast.

"I know, but that's the first time you've said it"

"Really, sorry. I love you, I love you, I love you, does that help?"

"Yes, I love you too" he grinned and kissed her gently.

so i couldn't keep them apart. so sue me. And I do apologise profusely for the chicken dance. I had had a strange day the day I wrote it. Something to do with biscuits and trees. Really, don't ask. and i do apologise for the fluff. like i said. biscuits and trees.


	18. Chapter 18

For those wondering, that dance club comp is not mentioned again, my bad but you can decide if they remain reigning champions, or if they indeed go back at all. Totally up to you.

Chapter 18

One month later:

Sam watched smiling as Honey walked down the aisle, she looked gorgeous in a strapless white dress with a full skirt. Steve looked handsome too in a traditional black suit. Sam was sitting next to Phil who had Maddie on his lap and his mother on the other side.

"Why couldn't you find a nice girl like her instead of that Cindy witch?"

"Mum."

"I'm sorry but I could tell she was trouble right from the start."

"No, you were the one who pestered me to ask her out and once I'd done that you invited her over for dinner and spent the next three years making me spend as much time with her as possible. You even told me to propose to her" Phil reminded her. "She was like an angel to you, _nothing_ she did was ever wrong and when ever we had a fight it was always _my_ fault."

"That's not true, don't tell stories. You only have yourself to blame for that mess and you know it." Sam smiled, laughing silently.

Phil glanced at her and squeezed her hand, "Mothers" he whispered and she just shook her head. She loved her mother's gift of remembering an event completely differently to how it had actually happened and her conviction to stick by it no matter how many people contradicted her.

Later, at the reception, Sam shared a dance with Phil. He had been hogged for the first two by Maddie then Steve had told him to have a dance with his new sister-in-law. After that Maddie had wanted another dance then Phil's mum wanted one and Phil had ignored Maddie who wanted another dance and asked her.

"This is great you know, all three women I love in the same place and they're not fighting." Phil smiled. Sam was touched to be put in the same league as his mother and his daughter.

"You're so sweet, I love you too" Sam whispered, she was aware of the looks she was getting from her colleagues, the entire station had been invited to the wedding but Phil maintained that he would have invited her anyway.

"Are you having fun?" Phil asked, he thought Sam might be a bit bored because she didn't have Gina to talk to. For some reason she couldn't come for the first half, she was getting here later.

"Yes, how can I not have fun while you're here? And Maddie too, Tony keeps me on my feet when you're dancing with someone else." Sam laughed. It was true, Tony had danced with her for the first dance then she had sat the next one out and the one after that she had danced with Adam. Tony had come back and asked her for another dance and they had kept going to the next song. He was dancing with June now, Jim looked tired out. Sam was glad it had worked out for them, they deserved each other. Gina came about halfway through the celebrations and she had ended up catching the bouquet. Everyone had laughed at that and even Gina had suggested a re-throw but Honey had been adamant that some how everything would work itself out and that Gina should keep it. Sam had heard Honey mutter to Gina afterwards that the last time she had seen Jonathan, in court the week before, he had asked after her.

Eventually the party wound down and Sam and Phil thought it was time to slip away. They almost made it but Jack caught them.

"Are you leaving?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm a bit tired you know" Phil answered.

"It's probably time I got back to Abi anyway" Sam answered.

"Ok Sam, enjoy your holiday" Jack said grinning.

"What holiday?" Sam asked confused and Phil could have kicked himself. He had organised a holiday for him, Abi, Sam and Maddie for the next week to Brighton because it was school holidays and it was summer so they could go swimming. He had got Abi to ring Jack up and ask if Sam could have time off because she was planning a surprise holiday for them and he had agreed. He must have thought that Abi would have already told Sam and now he was going to give the game away.

"You're not coming into work tomorrow morning are you?" Jack saved it at the last minute.

"No" Sam answered smiling, "But that's hardly a holiday"

"I meant it in the loosest sense of the word" Jack replied.

"Oh, right" Sam frowned but she left anyway. In the carpark Sam went to go to her car and Phil to his. "Daddy, can I go with Sammie?" Maddie asked hopefully.

Phil looked at Sam, "I don't mind, if you don't" she agreed.

"Sure, I'll see you there, k honey." Phil said smiling.

Maddie skipped alongside Sam to her car, "Why'd you want to come with me?" Sam asked curiously, she was still getting used to the fact that Maddie adored her. It was nice and Sam was glad that neither Maddie nor Abi were making it difficult for them but she didn't understand it.

"You let me pick the music and you drive better than dad" Maddie answered seriously. Sam laughed, Phil wasn't that bad at driving but she'd admit that sometimes it was a bit hair-raising.

When they got home Sam went upstairs and got changed, she knew Phil had a surprise for her but she had absolutely no idea what it was. He had told her to dress in something comfortable so she had and she saw him standing at the bottom of the stairs having already changed, he was looking at photos on the hall table and she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Where are we going then?"

"You'll have to wait and see, that's a surprise" Phil replied turning around.

"Come on, just a tiny hint, please?"

"No, don't beg, you know I'll tell you anything you want to know if you beg and that will ruin the surprise" Phil declared adamantly.

"Alright" Sam agreed grumpily. Phil smiled and twirled his finger in a circle indicating that she turn around. Sam did so and he tied a blindfold around her eyes.

"You have _got_ to be kidding." Sam whined and Phil chuckled. He led her out to the car where Abi and Maddie were already sitting, after doing up her seatbelt and reversing out the driveway Phil started driving towards Brighton. It was about a two hour drive and he hoped that blindfolding Sam would convince her that it wasn't that long. After about an hour of driving, though it only felt like half an hour because Sam had drifted off a couple of times, Sam said she was bored. "Let's play a game, I guess I spy is ruled out because I can't see but when ever I used to go for long drives with dad, or Abi, we used to play twenty questions, though it was more like unlimited questions 'cause we never stuck to a question limit."

"Ok, we can play that" Phil agreed amused, he loved hearing Sam talk about her dad, probably because he hadn't had a strong relationship with his father and because Sam and her dad had such a strong bond. She clearly loved him a lot.

"Thought of something" Sam declared and Phil set about trying to guess it. He had figured out what it was about five minutes into the game but he kept dancing around it trying to see how many questions he could think of that would lead him away from the answer. He knew it was a plant and it bore fruit and after asking if it was purple he asked, "Is it a coconut?"

"You knew didn't you?" Sam accused, "the whole point of the game is to actually guess it, not dance around it for as long as you can"

Phil laughed, Sam was so adorable when she was indignant. "Sorry, ok, I'm thinking of something." Phil announced, he grinned, Sam would never guess it.

Sam sat in silence for a minute and then asked, "Is it the titanic?"

"Hey, you can't do that. You're supposed to guess, not know it immediately" he protested annoyed.

"I just did" Sam laughed. She had noticed that the book he was reading at the moment somehow involved the titanic.

"How'd you do it anyway?" Phil asked curiously.

"I can read your mind" Sam told him in a mock spook voice. She thought she heard a strangled giggle from the back seat but dismissed it as something moving around in the boot.

"Nah, come on. You have to tell me" Phil pestered.

"Only if you tell me where we're going, you're keeping secrets from me so I can keep some from you."

"Do you mean to say you haven't kept secrets from me yet?" Phil asked grinning.

"Do you mean to say you have?" Sam countered. She loved that she and Phil never ran out of things to talk about and that they could carry on a conversation as inane as this one.

"It's not far now," Phil said, avoiding answering her question. Ten minutes later they pulled up in front of the hotel they were going to be staying in. Abi got out while Phil was distracting Sam with a kiss, she looked ridiculous with her blindfold on. She went into the hotel and got the key coming back and silently handing it to Phil along with one of the suitcases. With one arm around her shoulders Phil steered Sam to the hotel and into the lift and to their room. Dumping the suitcase on the bed he walked her over to the window and he took the blindfold off. She gasped, from there they could see the Brighton pier, all the rides were alight and they were reflecting on the water.

"How long were we driving for?" Sam asked amazed. Phil didn't answer because she knew she meant it rhetorically. "You like?" he asked hopefully.

"No, I love" Sam replied and kissed him tenderly. "What about the girls?" she asked and a moment later they entered the room.

"We were waiting outside till you mentioned us" Abi explained lugging in two suitcases.

"We have this place for a week, Abi talked to Jack and got you time off work so just relax and enjoy yourself."

Sam kissed Phil deeply, it was the only adequate response she could think of for what he had done.

The next morning they went for a walk along the beach and had breakfast at a quaint little café. After that they went for a swim, the water was slightly chilly but refreshing, Sam was glad Abi had done her packing for her because she seemed to know all of Sam's favourite clothes. Unfortunately she had packed the wrong bathers and Sam felt a bit uncomfortable in a white triangle bikini. Phil said she looked gorgeous but if she wanted they could go and buy some more bathers that's she'd feel more comfortable in. So that afternoon they went shopping and Sam found a great watch for Phil, his birthday was coming up and he kept complaining that the second hand on his watch didn't work. That night Phil, Sam, Abi and Maddie walked to the pier and bought a yiros for dinner then they went on the rides. They all went on Hard Rock and Abi and Sam went on the Mega-Mix with her. Eventually it was time to go home, they went on the Ferris Wheel as the last ride and Maddie fell asleep on Sam's lap. Watching the fireworks from the top of the wheel with Phil, Abi and Maddie was great and Sam wished it could last forever.

OMG I can't believe I wrote something so _fluffy_. I should really get rid of this chapter altogether but I really can't be bothered. Oh well. Enjoy it while it lasts and I'll find some drama to fill. Onwards we go….


	19. Chapter 19

And back to the drama…sort of.

Chapter 19

The rest of their week at Brighton was just as good as the first day and by the end of it they were completely exhausted. Sam drove on the way home and she invited Maddie and Phil to spend the night because it was too late to have to drive home. They accepted gratefully and they had just settled down for the night when there was a knock on the door.

Sam groaned and Phil sat up, "I'll get it" he told her kissing her on the forehead.

"No, they'll be looking for me and I'll have to get up anyway, I'll get it."

"Ok" Phil agreed and lay back down again. Sam got her dressing gown on and purposely didn't hurry, the person at the door was being impatient and she was determined to make them wait.

"What do you want?" she demanded opening the door to find Neil and Jack on her doorstep.

Neil didn't wait for niceties and barged in, "Do you want to come in?" Sam asked her voice full of sarcasm. Jack rolled his eyes and entered after being polite enough to wait until she invited him. Sam then went to the kitchen and put the kettle on, she needed coffee if she was going to stay awake long enough to hear what they wanted.

"So, what's going on and why are you at my house in the middle of the night?" she asked tiredly. There was a noise at the door and Maddie came out in her pyjamas.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Just people from work, they need to talk to me for some reason, go back to bed sweetie" Sam said. Maddie yawned and her nose twitched, Sam knew her well enough to know that was a bad sign. She sighed and picked Maddie up, "Come on, you can sleep in my bed for a while if you want" she told her carrying her upstairs.

"Who is it?" Phil asked curiously when Sam came in carrying a grizzly Maddie.

"Neil and Jack."

"What do they want?"

"Not sure yet."

Jack and Neil sat there looking confused as Sam made her coffee, who was that little girl and what was she doing here? Neil dismissed it first and got round to the point.

"We need your help, Andrea's missing and we think she found out who killed Kerry."

Sam smiled to herself, it seemed her suspicions were correct. "Why do you think that, and wasn't Jason Hardy the one who killed her?"

"She thinks it was someone else."

"Ok, do you know where to start looking?"

"No" Jack answered.

"Actually, she mentioned that she was going to the Tavern to meet someone, we could check that out" Neil said awkwardly, how was he going to explain how he knew that? But thankfully it seemed Sam was more interested in finding Andrea than questioning him.

"Alright, give me a minute to get changed and then we can go have a look" Sam sighed and walked upstairs again.

"So, what do they want?" Phil asked when she had closed the door.

"Apparently Andrea Dunbar is missing and they want me to help find her, Neil actually has some respect for my profiling skills it seems."

"Well of course he does, you're brilliant."

"Thanks" Sam grinned.

"Go easy on him though, I probably shouldn't tell you this but… he's having an affair with Andrea"

Sam laughed out loud, "I suspected he liked her but I didn't know there was something actually going on. That explains why he's been acting the way he has."

"Yeah, just keep it hush-hush 'kay?"

"Of course I will, wouldn't want to get you in trouble would I?" she asked kissing him lightly, "I'll keep you updated by SMS, can you see if you can get some officers together in case we need you?" she asked.

"Sure" Phil agreed and kissed her gently on the lips, "Be careful, yeah?"

"I will" he assured him and left.

Thankfully Jack drove to the Tavern, she didn't want to know what Neil's driving would be like if he was worried about his girlfriend. It was bad enough in the first place without adding anxiousty to it. When they arrived there they asked if the bartender had seen Andrea. He said she had been talking to that guy in the corner. The trio walked over to him.

"What were you talking to Andrea about?" Neil demanded.

"Don't know what you're talking about" the guy told him coolly.

"The bartender said you were talking to her."

"Oh, her? She's my girlfriend, aren't I allowed to talk to her?" he asked mockingly.

"Tell me what you know" Neil yelled slamming his fist on the table.

"No" the guy replied calmly.

Neil took out his cuffs, "I am arresting you for obstructing a police investigation-" he started.

"Neil, don't be stupid" Sam said pushing in front of him.

"Don't talk to me like that Samantha, or I'll have you for insubordination."

Sam was sick of this she pulled Neil away and started in a low voice, "If you want me to help you find your girlfriend then you can stop being so rude and intimidating the only witness we have. Now go outside, cool down, and let me talk to this guy."

Neil looked shaken, how did Sam know? Sam glared at him and he did as he was bid.

Sitting down across from the man who had been talking to Andrea she said, "Ok you'd better talk fast because he's going to come back and pound your brains in otherwise. We're looking for Andrea Dunbar, she's a colleague of ours who we believe may be in serious trouble."

(Just reminding you, Andrea isn't a journalist in this she just followed up this lead because she wanted to get even for Kerry's death. It was actually Gabriel who leaked the stories she supposedly did.)

"What sort of trouble?"

"We believe that she found out who killed Kerry Young, another colleague of ours and we believe she has now been abducted by the same person, we know what he's capable of and we want to stop him before he kills her too."

The man sighed, "Ok, I'll tell you what I know. But it's only because I want to help that girl."

Sam nodded, she hated people who thought they had to make sure you knew they didn't like you but she willing to put up with it if it helped to find Andrea.

"My name is Martin, I used to be in the army. Andrea thought that Jason Hardy's accomplice might have been in the army with him. She specifically asked after a David Kent."

Sam's ears pricked up at this, could he be any relation to Gabriel Kent?

"She asked if David Kent had any pictures taken with Jason Hardy and as a matter of fact they did. When they were posted in Vietnam there was an outbreak of vigilante killings, they didn't officially claim credit for them but they had their picture taken together for a foreign newspaper. The army couldn't prove anything so they just dishonourably discharged them."

"And do you have a copy of this picture?" Sam asked hopefully.

"I do, your colleague Andrea was going to come and pick it up tonight but I guess she was unavoidably detained" he handed the photo to Sam and she stared at it. The caption under it read David Kent and Jason Hardy but it was _Gabriel_ Kent, not David.

"That's Gabriel Kent" she exclaimed.

"What? No it's not. That's David Kent, I know, I served with him. Gabriel's his brother, he lives round the corner actually, I served with him too. Nice bloke, good soldier."

"Are you sure?" Sam asked curiously, "can I have his address?"

"Sure, 14 Hardy Street,"

"Thanks" Sam said and she left the bar more confused than when she went in.

"Jack, can you keep Neil calm please, I'm just going to check something out, wont be long" Sam said and left.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Ringing the bell of 14 Hardy Street she hoped she'd find some answers here.

"D'you know what time it is?" the man who answered the door asked.

"Yeah, sorry bout this but it is a matter of some urgency. I'm DS Sam Nixon from Sunhill, can I come in please?"

"Ok" the man sighed tiredly and opened the door for her. "Tea? Coffee?" he asked

"Coffee, thanks"

"So what's the emergency?"

"I need to ask you about your brother, David Kent"

"What about him?"

"Is this him?" Sam asked showing him the picture

"Yeah, that's him. If you're looking for him though, I have no idea where he is. Haven't seen him for years"

"I'd believe it" Sam muttered

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gabriel asked suspiciously, there was something she wasn't telling him.

"I know this is going to be hard to hear, but your brother has been masquerading as you for the past five years or so. First at Hendon then at Sunhill as a police officer."

"What?" Gabriel exclaimed.

"Yeah, I was wondering if you could shed some light on why. Also, it would help if you could tell us where he might go when he's in trouble."

"The why I can help you with, I'm not actually his brother, I was adopted after his parents found out they couldn't have any more kids. I was always the favoured one, or that's how David saw it. When I said I wanted to join the police to see if I could find my real mother our parents blew up. They said that they were my parents now and I didn't need to find her. I stormed off and they followed me. They were killed in a car crash that night and David blames me for that. It is my fault so I don't begrudge him for that but he also partly blames my mother, apparently none of this would have happened if she had never given me away in the first place. From what you've said it looks like he just turned up on the day that I was supposed to and took my place at Hendon, I suppose he was trying to find my mum to ask her why she gave me away, or to get revenge. He's that sort of person" Gabriel finished his story and handed Sam her cup of coffee.

Sam hadn't interrupted his story because she thought se might lead him off track but he had to know, "Do you know what you mother's name is?"

"June Acland" he replied

Sam gasped internally, she hadn't seen June as the sort of person to give up her own child, she was Auntie June, everyone's friend. Externally Sam nodded, "Ok, do you know where David might go when he's in trouble?"

"Well, when he ran away when he was fifteen he went to our country house. It's about an hour's drive down the M5 then a left and you're there. I guess he might go there. Other then that I can't think of anywhere"

"Ok, thankyou, you've been a lot of help" Sam said and stood to leave"

"You know my mother don't you?" Gabriel accused.

"Yes" Sam replied after a moments thought.

"Can you tell her where I am please, I'd like to meet her."

"I'll pass on the message" Sam promised.

"Where the hell is she?" Neil fumed. Sam had been gone for almost twenty minutes and his patience was running out. Andrea could be anywhere by now.

"Hello" Sam said walking round the corner, "Did you miss me?"

"Now's not the time for jokes Sam" Jack reprimanded.

"I know" Sam replied, but she couldn't resist, winding Neil up was so fun. "I know who's got her too"

"Who?" Neil demanded.

Sam glared at him, "Normally I'd make you say please but since it's exceptional circumstances I'll be nice. It's Gabriel Kent, well—to be more precise it's David Kent, but we know him as Gabriel."

"Sam, you have five seconds to explain what you mean," Jack said looking utterly confused.

"David Kent pinched his brother's identity and joined the MET under his name. He served in Vietnam with Jason Hardy and he killed Kerry. This is the address where his brother thinks we might find him. I have to admit, it's a high possibility. I already checked and he's not at the station so that's where we'd better go" Sam said shoving a piece of paper under Jack nose.

"Let's go, I'll drive" Neil said walking round to the driver's side.

"Err – no. Perhaps you'd better let Jack or me drive" Sam said, she wanted to arrive there in one piece.

They arrived at the house an hour and a half later and Sam instructed Jack to go round the left of the house and Neil to take the right. She had seen a movement in the front window and she knew that David was watching their every move. Once Jack and Neil were out the way she walked up to the front of the building.

There was a shot from the upstairs window and Sam felt a searing pain in her shoulder. It was only a flesh wound so she pretended that it hadn't hit her.

"Ok David, there's no point in killing me because everyone knows who you really are. There's only me Neil and Jack here so what I'm going to do is walk in the front door and try to find Andrea. I know you can get out that window and I'm not going to try and stop you. You can get away from here and be long gone before we come looking for you. But if Andrea is dead then I will hunt you down myself, as will the DI"

Sam stated walking towards the front door, thankfully no more shots came whizzing past her. She could hear scrambling and the sound of a window opening so it seemed that he was taking her offer of escape.

Sam found Andrea bound, gagged and unconscious on the couch but she was still breathing so that was good. After cutting the bonds and the gag she sat her up and tried to talk her round. She could hear noises outside and Neil came in.

"Andrea" he gasped and rushed to her side.

"Neil" she murmured. Sam decided to leave them alone and she walked outside.

"Did you get him?" she asked Phil who was standing on the veranda.

"Yeah, thanks for the tip off we'd been in place for about five minutes before you arrived, you didn't tell Jack or Neil?" he asked. Both of the officers had been surprised to hear Sam had called Phil and gotten him to get a SO19 unit up here before they got here.

"No, I thought it better to leave them out of it" Sam replied.

"Is Andrea ok?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine"

"You did good tonight you know, finding out who he really was"

"Thanks, oh God I'm tired" Sam complained.

"You reckon the DI'll give us the day off seeing as we saved his girlfriend and apprehended a dangerous murderer?" Phil asked grinning.

Sam laughed, "We can only hope," she said grinning back.

"Come on, let's go home" Phil said wrapping his arm around Sam's shoulders. She flinched and he looked closer at it. "You got hit" he said worriedly.

"Merely a flesh wound" Sam laughed it off, "You can have a better look later, when we get… home? Since when did my house become home to both of us?" she asked just realising what he had said.

"Well…you know what I mean" Phil amended, the wound didn't look deep and if it was a bullet wound it should be clean so he could look at it when they got home.

After Phil had cleaned and bandaged her shoulder Sam kissed him passionately and led him upstairs. "I think the knight on his white charger deserves a reward, don't you?"

He grinned, "What about the charger?"

"He can have oats" Sam said and shut the door.

Oh god i swear fluffiness is infectious. and i have been reading far too much fluff, hence this fluff. And yes I love Monty Python, I mean honestly, who doesn't?? (whoever doesn't is mad. absolutely mad)


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: and back to the drama, I was getting really annoyed at myself with all that fluff. Oh, and for future reference please don't kill me for this chapter. That would be just a little stupid coz then I can't update the rest of the story. However, if you wish to kill me, let me know in a review. It would be much appreciated. The review, not the death threat.

Chapter 21

The next morning Sam woke first, she watched Phil for a moment then she kissed him gently to wake him.

"Phil."

"Mmm."

"You know what you said yesterday…or this morning what ever it was"

"I said a lot of things which one?"

"That thing…_let's go home_…I was thinking…do you want to move in?" she asked nervously, holding her breath for his answer.

Phil couldn't believe his ears, did she just as him to move in with her? "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?"

"Phil" Sam complained, she didn't want to say it again, waiting for the answer was already killing her.

"I'm sorry, it's just I don't think I heard you right, did you just ask me to move in?"

"Yes" Sam sighed exasperatedly but laughing at the same time.

"That's a stupid question, of course I'd love to but can we wait till the weekend?"

"Ok" Sam sighed, letting out the breath she had been holding.

Phil wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened it. Running his hand up and down her back Phil forgot that Sam hated it and started kissing her neck, as soon as he realised his mistake he stopped but Sam smiled at him, it seemed she didn't mind now, she hadn't flinched anyway.

"You didn't flinch" he commented.

"Oh my God, I'm cured" Sam said facetiously and kissed him deeply.

Sam and Phil got up to find a text message on both their phones:

THANX 4 UR HELP LST NITE. U CAN HAV DA MRNIN OFF –JACK.

Sam smiled gratefully and got back into bed, she was really tired and needed a few more hours sleep. She got up at eleven and she and Phil arrived at the office by twelve. It was lunch time and Sam went to find June, there was something she needed to do. She found her in the canteen staring into a cup of coffee as though it could tell the future. "Suppose you heard the news about Gabriel then?" Sam asked raising her eyebrows and taking the seat across from her.

"What? –oh…yeah" June answered, "Who would have guessed?"

Sam raised her eyebrow again, "June…I was one of the officers in that mess, I got shot you know, only a flesh would mind you but still…"

"Oh really, well I'm glad you're ok, you don't know why he did it do you? Most people I've talked to seem to be a bit in the dark."

"Yeah, Apparently David was jealous of his adoptive brother Gabriel and when his parents died in a car crash he took his brothers place at Hendon so he could find his adoptive brothers real mother and make her pay…or something along the lines of that anyway. But I talked to his adoptive brother and he wants to meet you June, I know about your…history and I'm not going to tell anyone, if you feel they need to know you tell them, but I think the least you can do is talk to him, explain why you gave him away" Sam said her voice not giving away her curiosity as to why June would do that. June was looking more and more horrified as she went on, at the end of Sam's speech she let out a long sigh and nodded her lip trembling slightly. "Thanks for that, and thanks for not telling anyone"

"Not telling anyone what?" Sam asked mildly and she left, heading back up to CID, her part was done and now it was up to June and Gabriel to sort it out.

That Saturday Abi was staying at Lynn's house (she's moved back to England for good now) to give Sam and Phil some time alone. He was bringing his stuff over and they were having a celebratory dinner. The rent on his apartment ran out the next day so he had rented a u-store locker to keep some things in, the rest he had either sold or brought to Sam's already. The furniture had almost all been sold except for Maddie's bunk bed, Sam had been going to put her in the guest room but Maddie and Abi had talked about it and agreed to share, Abi was only there on weekends anyway because her university was so far away. Sam was trying to make room for his piano which was in the u-store till they could make room for it and she and Abi had spent a lot of time clearing out Sam's cupboard to make room for Phil's clothes and personal things.

Sam had even attempted to cook which was really something special, it hadn't turned out too badly either, it was edible anyway. The doorbell rang and Sam hurried to answer it. Her face fell when it turned out to be Jack.

"Thanks" he said sarcastically.

"Sorry, thought you might be someone else" Sam apologised and invited him in.

"You're expecting someone?"

"Yeah"

"Oh"

"Jack, what is it?" Sam asked concerned, he was starting to worry her.

"I'm sorry, I thought you should hear this from someone you know…there was an accident on the M5…your mum was killed"

Sam couldn't believe what she was hearing, this couldn't be happening, he mum was strong and independent, not dead. "Sam?" Jack's voice sounded like it was coming from far away, she looked at him, her eyes filling up with tears. He offered her a shoulder to cry on and she took it gratefully. Burying her head in his shoulder she cried for her mum, she couldn't believe she was gone.

Phil was sitting in the car checking his reflection in the mirror, not that he needed to but this was a special occasion. He heard a knock on his window and turned to see, "Debbie? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, I came to pick up something Andrew left here when Sam babysat for me"

"Oh" Phil got out of the car and he and Debbie walked across the road, "Hey, isn't that Jack's car?" Phil asked confused

"Yeah, wonder what he's doing here" Debbie commented, her question was soon answered when they looked up at Sam's house. They could see through the window and Sam was wrapped in Jack's embrace. Debbie stormed up to the door and pounded on it but Phil couldn't believe what he was seeing. He had thought Sam had loved him, he turned around and ran blindly back to his car.

Sam had only just opened the door when she saw Phil walking away, a car came hurtling around the corner and she yelled "Phil!" but it was too late. Sam watched as it hit Phil and his body bounced onto the bonnet, his shoulder hit the windscreen and cracked it. He bounced once on the roof, sliding slightly to the right, his left leg clipped the boot and he lay motionless on the ground. Jack tried to get a look at the licence of the car but failed. Sam ran to where Phil was lying on the road yelling at Debbie to call an ambulance.

Phil looked bad but was probably worse, his left leg was sticking out, probably broken. He had a huge gash on his shoulder and a head wound plus any number of internal injuries. She checked to see if he was breathing and he wasn't so she began EAR (expired air resuscitation). After the first five breaths she checked to see if he had a pulse, thankfully he did so she continued with EAR as tears spilled down her face. _Come on baby, you can't die on me now_ she thought.

The ambulance arrived a few minutes later and Phil was bundled into it. Sam scrambled in after him and it tore off leaving Jack and Debbie standing there. Wordlessly they hopped into Debbie's car, just because it was facing the right way and followed the ambulance. Sam was pacing the waiting room, tears still flowing down her face, Phil had been rushed to theatre immediately but that was almost an hour ago, or so it felt. Debbie and Jack arrived a little while later, "How is he?" Debbie asked.

"They're still operating" Sam informed them tearfully, she didn't care what they thought, Phil could die and it was all her fault.

Jack went to comfort Sam but she moved away, he knew she was probably shaken by what had happened because it had just happened to her mother so he accepted that but, as usual, Debbie had to pick at it.

"Why are you moving away now, you looked pretty cosy before" that was the wrong this to say, Sam completely flew off the handle.

"For God's sake Debbie, if you want him let _him_ know that, but don't get jealous if you think he's moving on because you were the one who turned him down. And just so you know, there is nothing between me and Jack and there never ever will be, no offence Jack"

"None taken" he said graciously.

"Then what was that I saw in the window?" Debbie accused.

"My mother just died if you must know, Jack just told me," Sam yelled.

"Oh God Sam, I'm sorry, I didn't know"

"Just go away, you too Jack, I want to be alone" Sam muttered.

A tiring hour later a nurse finally came out "Mrs Hunter?" she asked

"Err- no…I'm his girlfriend" Sam told her, _please let Phil be ok._

"I'm afraid we've had to put Mr Hunter into a medically induced coma"

"What does that mean?" Sam asked scared, it didn't sound good.

"It means that we've put him to sleep so he can recover, he may wake up in a few days but he may slip into an actual coma, it's too early to tell"

"Oh God" Sam gasped, this couldn't be happening. "Can I make a phone call?" she asked.

"Sure, this way" the nurse led her to a phone, "Press zero then dial the number"

"Ok, thanks" Sam rang Lynn's number

"Hello?" Abi answered.

"Abi, it's me"

"Mum, what happened

"There was an accident, Phil's been hit by a car" Sam sobbed, "Look, I need you to do home and get my phone then come here please, it has Steve's number in it somewhere."

"Ok, I'll see you soon, yeah"

Abi arrived at the hospital half an hour later and was directed to Phil's room where Sam was keeping vigil.

"Here" she said softly, handing the phone to her mum, Abi had only ever seen her mum cry twice, once when they'd had a really bad fight and when she had escaped from Hugh. But that was nothing compared to what she was doing now, she wasn't acting like she was crying, no sobs or anything but the tears kept coming, it was like someone had turned a tap on and it wouldn't stop.

"Thanks sweetie, can you look after him for a moment, I need to go outside to make the call"

"Sure" Abi agreed

Sam walked out of the room and down the hallway, when she was outside she shivered a little but she didn't notice, nothing mattered more than Phil, she hadn't realised how much she loved him until now.

"Hello?" a tired voice said at the end of the phone.

"Steve, it's me"

"Who…Sam?" he asked confused, why was she ringing him.

"There's been an accident…Phil's in Saint Hughes," she said, choking back the tears.

"Oh God, is he ok?"

"He's in ICU, they put him in a medically induced coma"

"Ok, I'll be there as soon as I can" Steve hung up and Sam went back inside.

Twenty minutes later Steve rushed into the room followed by Honey. "I talked to the doctor, it's bad isn't it" he asked looking at Sam. She nodded, wiping her eyes again. "Are you ok?" Honey asked concerned, she had never seen in-control Sam Nixon like this.

"No" Sam murmured.

"Why are you here anyway?" Steve asked, it had only just occurred to him that she hadn't explained that.

"I…I was there when he was hit…it was right outside my house"

"Forgive me for asking but why was he outside your house?" Steve asked confused

"You mean…he didn't tell you?" Sam asked amazed, she had thought that Phil had already told Steve but apparently he hadn't.

"Tell me what?"

"He…erm…" Sam trailed off, she didn't want to remind herself of how good things had been, it would just emphasise how much she had screwed up.

"You two are seeing each other aren't you?" Honey asked, she had suspected it for sometime, though she was probably the only one, but this was the first time she had had any form of confirmation.

Sam nodded tearfully and Honey hugged her, "He was…he was moving in" Sam said more tears cascading down her cheeks.

"Moving in!" Steve yelled, "He didn't even breathe a word to me."

"God, he has to get better, he has to" Sam sobbed.


	22. Chapter 22

I swear you're all sadists, the lot of ya. You are_ ENJOYING_ Sam's _pain_. You meanies. Ok, so I'm the one causing the pain and I'm enjoying it immensely also, but that's beside the point. Am really frustrated with fanfic at the moment as it is _still_ not sending out alerts/reviews etc. is anyone else having that trouble, apart from Vikki? And if so do you know how to contact the people that run the site so they can fix it, cause I don't.

Anyway, thanks so so so much for all you reviews/

SGN: yep, I am evil I know. Her mum does die and then Phil gets hit by a car all in the last chapter. How could I?...Something hijacked my fingers I swear.

Becca: I did warn you there was gonna be lots of drama. Yes, we must all feel terribly sorry for poor Sam. Maybe, or maybe I'll just be horrid and leave him there. You'll have to wait and see.

S-Nixon: refer to comment for SGN.

Little People: I'm so glad someone appreciates the cliffie, thought we needed one after all that damn fluff. And here's that update you requested, complete with the unordered side of angst. hope you enjoy.

Gemz: refer to comment for Becca. (Your reviews were very similar as were S-Nixon's and SGN's)

Now, on with the story, I do warn you this chapter is a bit angsty. Ok, very angsty. Always rather fun. Don't you think:P

Chapter 22

Sam had stayed the entire night at the hospital with Phil, Honey and Steve had stayed too but she had sent Abi home. She called the station early that morning to say she wouldn't be coming in because of a family emergency, Neil had been expecting that because of her mum's death and didn't ask any questions. She returned to sit by Phil's bed, combing her fingers through his hair and whispering nothing. Honey went into work but Steve also called up and said he wasn't coming in, Gina was expecting that though, Jack had told her about the accident. He and Sam just sat there, "Coffee?" he asked her after a couple of hours.

"Please" Sam answered. "Milk, no sugar"

Steve came back a while later and handed her the cup of coffee, "So, how long have you two been… seeing each other?" he asked.

"Umm, almost five months" she replied

"I can't believe Phil kept this from me, and you were moving in together?"

"Yeah, I asked him a while ago and we spent the last week sorting stuff out. He gave notice to his landlord, and moved the stuff we didn't sell or couldn't fit into my house into a U-store it unit."

"You really love him don't you?"

"Yeah, what gave it away?" Sam asked sarcastically

"The fact you took time off work" Steve answered.

The nurse came by later and told them that it was probably best if Phil was left alone for a while, he wouldn't come out of the coma for a few days at least. Sam decided she needed to talk to someone, but who? Eva, she hadn't spoken to her for ages, not since the Hugh Wallace incident. She resolved to call her when she got home.

Eva agreed to meet up with Sam that night so at eight o'clock Sam drove to the Canley arms a picked a table. She was sitting there with a pint for Eva one for herself when Eva arrived.

"Hey, how are you"

"Good, I'm glad you called, we haven't had much chance to talk since you came back have we?" Eva asked, sitting down.

"Came back?"

"You know, from the dead"

"Oh ha ha, very funny" Sam said sarcastically, though it did make her smile which was more than she'd done in the last couple of days.

"So, you said you needed to talk to someone, just to get it off your chest or you were going to implode if I remember your words correctly, is it work or Abi?"

Sam grimaced, "God, was I really so…" she trailed off, did Eva really see her that way, as only caring about work or Abi? And she had put work first so what did that mean?

Eva frowned, she could tell there was something different about Sam and something prompted her to ask, "Is it… man troubles?" Sam bit her lip and nodded. "What's he like?"

"He's kind, funny, smart, sweet, Abi loves him…" Sam trailed off wishing that Phil was here.

"So, he doesn't feel the same way then? And does he have a name?"

"No – he does feel the same way… I'm pretty sure anyway but…" Sam trailed off again, she was trying to blink back to tears in her eyes. "He's in a coma, he was hit by a car… every night my mind plays it over and over again. And I do something different and it doesn't hit him but when I wake up he's not there and I remember that it really did happen… Oh God… I hate feeling like this. He was hit on the same night my mother was killed in a car accident. It's just not fair" Sam wiped her eyes.

"Sam, I'm sorry, its' not fair is it." Eva paused for a moment but she knew she had to know, "What's his name then?"

"Phil" Sam replied sipping her drink.

"Phil? Phil Hunter, you've got to be joking" Eva said worried, no, surely she was wrong, she shouldn't even have asked. Sam shook her head and Eva breathed a sigh of relief but then Sam said, "No, I'm not joking".

Eva looked incredulously at her, "Sam, you know what's he's like, are you sure you should be seeing him?"

"Yeah, I do know what he's like. He's kind, sensitive, funny, intelligent, sweet, loving, ticklish," Sam's mouth twitched into something that resembled a smile when she said that, "and maybe slightly over protective but he knows that I'll do what I want no matter what he says, so he just warns me to be careful. I love him Eva, and I'm scared I'm going to lose him."

Eva hadn't been prepared for that outburst, and she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know he was ticklish. But it was obvious Sam loved him, all she could do was be there for her to pick up the pieces, either if he died, heaven forbid, or he recovered and Sam found out he was screwing around.

"I'll get the next round," Eva said getting up.

Sam shook her head, "No, I have to get back to Maddie, sorry"

"Maddie?"

Sam nodded, "Phil's daughter, I'm looking after her until he wakes up"

"You're looking after his daughter?" Eva asked incredulously.

"Yeah, Christine was being stalked by Dennis Weaver's family and she decided it was safer to leave the country, we were going to be looking after her anyway and I didn't see any reason to change our plans" Sam explained.

"Woah, back up, _We_ were going to be looking after her anyway? And I didn't see any reason to change _our_ plans?"

"Sorry, I'd better start from the beginning" Sam related the story in a massively condensed version finishing with Phil getting hit by the car.

Sam got back late and Maddie was already in bed but she still went upstairs to kiss her goodnight.

"I knew you'd come" Maddie murmured happily, Abi told Sam later that Maddie had wanted to wait up for her but she had started falling asleep on the couch so Abi had sent her to bed. The next day at work Sam was slightly cheerier, talking with Eva had really helped and she knew, deep down that Phil was going to be fine. She just hoped she was right.


	23. Chapter 23

only a short chapter, sorry. note to self: expect flames.

Chapter 23

The next two weeks passed with out too many incidents. There was a scuffle in custody and Sam had come out a bit worse for wear but after a check up she knew she was fine. But that weekend wasn't so good. Sam knew the doctors had been discussing pulling the life support but she had never thought they'd actually go through with it. They even had a councillor go over it with her, how it'd be better to let Phil go in peace because his chance of recovery was slim at best. And even if he did recover he most probably wouldn't be the same person that went into the coma, his brain was most probably damaged and there was nothing they could do to fix it. If by some miracle he did come out of the coma there would be nothing they could do and someone would have to look after him, probably constantly.

But in the end it boiled down to Phil's mother. She was the one who had the final decision and chose if Phil lived or died.

Sam was waiting at the hospital, spending as much time with Phil as possible before they made their decision. "Come on baby, you have to come back to me" she whispered. This was the room where she was truly herself. In front of her colleagues Sam portrayed a face of indifference. Sure she knew they had noticed and she knew what they were saying, that she was having a very delayed reaction from the Hugh Wallace catastrophe, that Abi had been committed to a rehabilitation clinic. Someone had mentioned that the relapse had occurred at the same time as Phil's coma and everyone had laughed it off as coincidence.

In front of Maddie Sam tried to be strong, she was only little and this was a horrible thing to happen. Sam jumped as she heard someone opening the door.

"Hey" Honey said smiling.

"Hi" Sam said dejectedly.

"You know I'm amazed at how you're coping, I would have been in pieces by now"

"Thanks—I am in pieces"

"I know—but…you've just got on with the job, when you're there, it's great."

"They've made their decision haven't they?" Sam asked, she knew where this was going, _you've been doing great, and you'll keep doing great, even though he is gone._ "Honey, the hope that Phil will wake up is the only thing that's kept me going. I can't cope if he dies, I can't." Sam practically pleaded, tear pricking her eyes and desperation in her voice.

Honey sighed, "Yes you will, I know you will"

Sam was glad she didn't try denying the fact that they had made their decision.

"Sam, don't you think you're being a bit selfish? Phil might be in a lot of pain but unable to tell us. I think it's best that you let him go in peace don't you?" Honey asked, she was the only person to get through to Sam. When the doctors had said it sounded so clinical, so formal, but with Honey saying it, it brought it all crashing down to earth.

"Oh God, you're right." Sam turned to Phil with tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry baby, I can't bare to think of you in pain. If the doctors say that's what's best for you I guess I'll… have to accept it." with tears flooding down her cheeks Sam lent over and kissed Phil gently on the lips. The doctors filed in and Sam was given one more minute to say goodbye… forever.

* * *

A/N: Sorry I just had to leave it there…do you want me to revive him? Cause I am open to suggestions…anyone want me to let him die? Any suggestions for who would help her through the pain. I didn't really like where this story was going anyhow…now I have an opportunity to change it. Please, I really want to know who you think I should put Sam together with when I kill Phil. 


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: you really thought I would kill him off? Hehe, that's so cool. But no, I have actually written out the rest of this story, and its sequel…I was bored, and I really can't be bothered re-writing it, so I can't kill Phil off unless I really want to re-write it all. And I really don't want to do that. But thanks for all your reviews, they mean so much to me.

And I would do the whole reply thing, but they all said pretty much the same thing

'Don't kill Phil, great chapter, please update soon.'

So, challenge here. Winner is the person with the most original review. What ever it may be. Though of course it must actually pertain to the following, chapter of course. Good luck guys.

And now, on with the story.

Chapter 24

Sam's heart broke as they turned off the machines, in her whole life she head never heard silence so deafening. She just wanted to die, but then she heard a sound that made her look up.

She couldn't believe her eyes, he was still breathing! And his eyes were twitching, the doctors had already filed out the room and Honey and Steve were following them either side of his mum. She knew she should call out to them but she wanted Phil to herself for a minute so she remained silent. Intertwining her fingers in his she waited for him to regain consciousness properly.

"Hey you" she said as his eyes opened.

"Sam?" he asked

"Yes, it's me." she whispered

"Oh God what happened?"

"You were hit by a car."

"Mmm –feels like it."

"Can I get you something? Anything?" Sam asked happy that he was alive, she had thought this would be the worst day of her life but it was the best.

"Yeah, there is something you can do for me."

"What?"

"You can…go away…and never come back" Phil rasped.

"Phil, wait, let me explain" Sam protested.

"No, I don't want to hear it, I know what I saw and I just want you to go"

"Ok" Sam choked, tears tumbling down her face. "If that's what you want" and she gathered her things and rushed out the door, tears in her eyes. She saw Steve and Honey standing nearby talking to a doctor. She walked up to him and said, "You know, I think you need to go back and have a look in there, that or update the way you declare people dead. He's fine, beating heart, breathing, voice box –memory!" She knew she was being harsh, after all, no one had expected Phil to recover, that's why they'd pulled the plug but she needed to vent her frustration somewhere and this seemed like a good opportunity. The doctor frowned at her, "I'm sorry Miss Nixon, that's impossible. I think you'd better come with me…we can get a psychologist to assess you–"

"Don't you think you should have a look in there before you have me committed, you arsehole" Sam said slapping him as he walked towards her.

"Fine, if it'll put you more at ease" the man said backing away. He walked over to the door and opened, Phil was struggling to sit up in the bed and he rushed in to help him, or something. This was a miracle. He took out his pager and pressed the button for emergency assistance, the supervising attendant came running, he knew Shaun McKenzie and he wasn't the type to call emergency for something small.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked when he saw Phil sitting up in bed, he couldn't understand why the doctors were so shocked at him sitting up but he knew better than to ask, it was probably better not to know. That and his head was killing him. The doctor ran a quick assessment check on Phil and he was surprisingly fine, no brain malfunctions that he could find, nothing. It was bizarre.

"Ok, you can see your family now"

Steve, Honey and Phil's mum had been waiting outside to see what was happening, was what Sam said really true, was Phil alive? It was too much to comprehend. Sam had already gone home, she looked like her sister had just died.

Sam arrived home at ten, Abi was baby sitting Maddie because she knew that it was the day they were going to make a decision as to stop the life support or not. When she heard her mum opening the door she rushed to find out what had happened she knew her mum wouldn't be bearable if they had decided to stop it. The last month had been enough for her and she wanted her mum back, even the one that care more about work than she did about her would be good right now, anything other than the empty shell that was walking around looking like her. Sam would be absolutely shattered if Phil had died.

"Mum, what happened?" Abi asked. One look saved her from an answer though, "oh god, they couldn't have…"she cried.

Sam nodded, she knew she had to tell Abi but it was hard trying to find the words… "He's…still alive though."

"What? He survived? Is he awake?"

"Yeah, no thanks to his _family_" Sam spat and dragged herself up the stairs. Abi could see she didn't feel like talking now but she knew there was something she was hiding. She decided to let her mum sleep on it and she'd pester her in the morning.

The next morning Sam had left for work before Abi even got up, probably to avoid explaining. Everyone at work noticed something was drastically wrong, they knew Phil had regained consciousness because Steve had told them but Sam was worse than ever. Neil cottoned on to this immediately and asked Sam to get the report on the Peters case on his desk by lunchtime. Sam did that with out complaint but when he asked her to re-write some case notes that were _lacking depth_ she blew her top.

"You've had me doing paperwork almost all week, ever since that bloody custody incident, I'm sick of it, why can't you put me on a real case?" She knew she was sounding whiny but she didn't care.

"Sam, you fainted."

"So, I'm fine now."

"No you're not, there's something you're not telling me and I want to know what it is. Until then I'll keep you on paperwork." Neil reprimanded sternly, he was doing this for her own good, really. It was just so fun to see her blow up like this.

"Forget it" Sam said and opened the door to his office and striding out. She threw the papers that were in her hand all over the floor, he could clean them up, and she left.

Neil sighed and started picking up the papers, he was actually quite worried about her, and she had just wrecked his fun by striding out. She hadn't been the same since the Hugh Wallace thing and he was quite inclined to agree with the gossip that this was some sort of delayed reaction to it but he knew that there was something more to it as well. It couldn't be just that.

What ever it was, Sam wasn't herself and she was inclined to do something irrational so he had to find her. She had a good head start on him because he couldn't leave, CID was short staffed as it was, but lunch was in fifteen minutes, he could look then. And with any luck she might be back by then, maybe she only went to the ladies.

That thought was trashed when he checked to see if her car was there, it wasn't. He went back up to CID and looked through her drawers, after he found Abi's phone number he left, no one else needed to hear what he was going to say.

"Hello?" Abi answered.

"Abigale Nixon? My name is Neil Manson, I'm from Sunhill."

"What's happened?" Abi asked immediately concerned.

"You're mother and I had and argument and she left, I have no idea where she is and I need to find her, do you have any idea where she might be?"

Abi thought furiously, she would have suggested the hospital but for some reason her mum and Phil didn't seem to be on speaking terms. Where else would she go? "Try Victoria Park and if she's not there call me back" she said and hung up, she was going to look too, who knew what Sam might have gotten herself into now. Abi had become very over-protective since her mum's kidnapping.

Neil checked at Victoria Park but found nothing, when he called Abi back she gave him the address of Lynn's house. She didn't really think she would have gone there but it was better to be safe than sorry and it was better to give him something to do. He had said that this was the last place he could look because he had to get back to work but for her to call him when she found Sam. Abi checked around Sam's usual haunts, home, Maddie's school, she decided to try the hospital anyway, maybe Phil would know where she was.

Storming into Phil's room where he was sitting up staring out the window she demanded, "What happened last night?"

"What do you mean?"

"Mum came home in tears, what happened?"

"Abi look, I–"

"Don't you '_Abi look' _me, she had a blazing argument with that Manson person and she stormed out of work, no one knows where she is. I need to find her," Abi shouted.

"Why are you sounding so desperate?" Phil asked concerned, "Sam's a big girl she can look after herself"

"No she can't, not now…ever since –she's been skipping meals, not sleeping. The doctor diagnosed her with depression for God's sake…I just need to find her, BLOODY HELL, WHERE IS SHE?" Abi screamed.

"Ummm…try…Skippers Wharf, but please- tell me why you're so worried," he said but Abi was out the room before he finished speaking.

A/N: please don't kill me. And remember, most original review. Which means you have to submit one. You can't win it if you're not in it.


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: U ALL SUCK!! Ok, except ESA—though I asked for an _original_ review and ESA's was more random. But come on! Nothing original, except the cabbage! It was all pretty much what I heard before, just phrased differently.

Let's try again….MOST ORIGINAL REVIEW GETS A PRIZE! Here's hoping that got you attention, and it is a good prize. I swear. Just you wait and see, but you still have to submit _original_ reviews. And this time random doesn't count.

(Not really mad at you guys, jut had a bad…fortnight. My Nan just died and am rather pissy, is why I haven't updated for a while…not that you want to hear me ranting, that's what my lj's for…)

* * *

Chapter 25

Abi arrived at Skippers Wharf fifteen minutes later and she could see her mum from the carpark. She was sitting on one of the cement support columns at the end, legs dangling over the side, staring into the river.

"Mum" Abi yelled.

She raised her head to look at her daughter, "Hey sweetie" Sam said pulling her legs up under her and crossing them.

"I've been looking for you everywhere, Manson someone rang up and said you'd stormed out of the station and he couldn't find you."

"So how'd you know to look here?" Sam asked smiling, Abi was sweet to worry but really she just needed time to her self to think.

"I asked Phil" Abi replied.

"Phil?" Sam's expression changed to nervousness, "What did he say, you didn't tell him anything did you?"

"He tried to explain something but I cut him off – I wanted to find you, I didn't tell him anything other than you hadn't been looking after yourself properly since his accident, you hadn't been eating properly and you hadn't been sleeping and the depression. But come on, you have to tell me what's going on, I can't keep guessing mum. This is too hard, first you are so strong and you don't need me, I feel unwanted, now I need to keep half an eye on you all the time. It's a complete turnaround and I'm not actually sure if it's a good thing, in some ways it's great, but I miss my mum."

"Honey, I know…and I'm sorry. I'll try to be normal I promise, it's just so hard."

"So tell me what happened last night with Phil"

"The night he was hit…that was the night Granny died. Jack came over to tell me the news and…I guess Phil saw me crying into his shoulder through the window and he got the wrong idea. That's why he ran out onto the road without looking, it was all my fault and now he doesn't want to see me ever again. Rightly so I guess."

"Oh God, mum, I'm so sorry. You should talk it out with him, explain it wasn't what he thought, when he calms down."

"No, he says he doesn't want to see me again, I'll respect that."

"You work together in case you've forgotten"

"Yeah, I was thinking about that, what do you say we move? I can put in for a transfer, you'll be closer to uni and you won't have to board, I always fancied moving to the country you know, well the suburbs anyway."

"No you didn't, you hate the nature thing, give you cement streets and hardened criminals any day. Anyway, I won't hear of it, I'm not letting you give up your career because of this and I'm certainly not letting you run away from it."

Sam sighed, she wasn't in the mood for this argument, she wasn't in the mood for anything. All she wanted to do was relax with Phil and a good movie, but she couldn't now, she had screwed it all up. Turning back along the wharf she started walking, Abi sighed and ran to catch up with her.

"Where are you going?" she asked a bit calmer this time.

"For a walk."

"Mum, come on, you have to take Maddie to see him anyway, you can at least talk to him."

"Alright, I'll take Maddie to see him tomorrow morning before work, if he want's to talk to me, then he can talk, but I have to respect that if he doesn't, I wont force him to."

"Mum, I know that tone in your voice" Abi warned, she knew her mother was planning a flying visit, minimise the chance that Phil could make her talk.

"What ever" Sam said abruptly and left. Abi debated going after her but decided that it would be better to wait. She called Manson and said that Sam was alright but she wouldn't be coming back to work today.

"Ok, thanks for letting me know."

"You're not going to punish her are you? She's been going through a rough time recently and she needs space."

"What sort of a rough time? That's what our argument was about, I wanted to know what was going on but she refused to tell me."

"Well her mother died recently, but you probably knew that"

"Yeah, anything else?"

"Umm, she hadn't been sleeping well, she blames herself for Phil's accident because it happened right outside our house and she hasn't been eating properly."

"Come on, I know there's something else"

Abi was impressed, no wonder her mum respected Neil Manson as a copper, he was brilliant. He could smell a lie – or even an omission - a mile away. "Yeah, I'm a bit worried because she's refusing to take the antidepressants the doctor prescribed."

"Ok, thankyou Abi, and I promise I won't punish your mum, everyone has hard times."

"Thanks."

* * *

Neil knew about hard times in the worst sense. He had thought that after Andrea's rescue everything would be fine, he'd let the dust settle and then he'd file for divorce. He had already had a trial separation and most of the time he was living at Andrea's but sometimes he stayed at the town house that he and Pippa usually rented out. That was where he was officially staying during the separation. Understandably James was upset but he made the most of it, but then it all went wrong. Pippa got sick and was admitted to hospital after collapsing in the court room, the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. He had the best doctors looking at the case but none of them could figure it out. That was why he had pushed Andrea away, he felt so guilty when he was with her or even thinking about her when his wife was possibly on her death bed, though that was over-dramatising it a bit. He sighed and turned back to his work, that was almost all that was keeping him going right now, that and James.

Sam packed Abi off early the next morning, apparently one of her professors had called and said that one of her lectures had been rescheduled for that morning so she had to get there a bit earlier that usual. She promised that she'd take Maddie to see her dad that morning so that's what she did, it wouldn't hurt her to miss out on a bit of school, she was so bright anyway.

Maddie entered the room to see Phil and Sam closed the door behind her and sat outside to wait. Maddie knew that she wasn't going to stay there long and Sam had been teaching her to tell the time. So Maddie would know when to come out because of the watch Sam had given her last week and Sam wouldn't have to even look at Phil. It sounded like a great plan but Sam better that once put into practice the reality would be much different.

"Hey sweetie, what are you doing here?" Phil asked when he saw Maddie.

"I came to see you silly" Maddie replied, giving her dad a hug.

"Oh, and it's a great surprise, who brought you?"

"Sammie did."

Phil's face froze when he heard Sam's name, ever since Abi had come to visit him and he had found out about her reaction to his accident he had been worried. What if he had said the wrong thing? Maybe there was nothing to what he had seen in the window and they could work things out. Phil had realised that even if she was seeing Jack he still wanted to be her friend. He didn't want to throw all they had away on one misunderstanding, if indeed that's what it was.

He talked to Maddie for a while and found out she could tell the time and she had started reading a book called _Five go to Demon's Rocks_. Sam had given it to her from the collection she had had as a child. Phil had never actually read _The Famous Five_ but it sounded like Maddie was enjoying it immensely and Sam was helping her with the difficult parts. That's when he realised just how grown up his daughter was. She was almost six and she was reading novels, he could remember the day he had found out about her, the day she had been conceived. It didn't seem like six years ago but it was, time moved too fast for him too keep up – and being in a coma certainly didn't help. Thankfully the doctors said that his body had healed a lot while he was in it, probably faster than it would have if he had been awake, and he might be out of here by the end of the week.

* * *

Eventually Maddie said it was time for her to go, he got up and walked her to the door.

Sam greeted her, ignoring him and started walking down the corridor.

"Sam wait, we need to talk," he said softly. She turned around stiffly.

"No we don't, I think you made what you wanted quite clear, I still have a key to your lock up, I've been keeping up the rent on it because I still haven't found room for the piano. I can just put your stuff in there and you can pick it up once you've found your own place." She said curly and turned to leave again.

"What are you going to do with my daughter? Are you just going to leave her in the lock up too?" Phil called out after her.

"I have to go Phil, Maddie has school."

"I can take care of that," a voice said. Sam's sister Lynn was standing there with a look on her face that clearly said _you are acting so childishly._

"I am not," Sam said indignantly.

Despite himself Phil chucked, he had always thought she was so adorable when she was indignant and that hadn't changed.

"What are you laughing at" Sam asked angrily, how dare he laugh at her when he had put her through so much.

"Nothing" Phil replied.

"Ok, you two, say goodbye to Maddie cause I'm taking her to school now" Lynn said.

"No, I will" Sam said.

"Sam" Lynn said warningly "He wants to talk"

"Damn you Abi" Sam swore under her breath.

Lynn and Maddie left and Phil held the door open for her politely. Sam glared at him and stalked into the room, he sighed and closed the door.

"How've you been?" he asked after a minute's silence.

Why was he doing this to her, couldn't he see that it hurt just being around him when she knew she could never hold him tight again. How could someone's feelings change so drastically when they were in a coma? She remembered the things the doctor had said to her, he probably won't be the same person who went into the coma. Those words had been haunting her thoughts since he had recovered. "Fine" she answered curtly.

"Not what I hear" he muttered. She opened her mouth to protest but he stopped her, "But I'm not here to talk about that, I… I have to know what it was that I saw that night… is there anything going on between you and Jack?"

"What do you think? What do you honestly think?" Sam asked him.

"No" he answered after a moment of thought, "No, I don't honestly think you would do that."

"Then why the hell did you run out in front of a car? And why the hell did you tell me to get lost? You have no idea the hell I went through in the last month, do you even bloody care?" Sam shouted.

"Of course I do, I would do anything to spare you that pain, I don't know why I did it either. Stupid testosterone I imagine"

"Don't you blame this on hormones you selfish bastard, you know my mother was killed in a road accident the same night you were hit, that's why Jack was there. God, me and Jack, how could you even _think _that? There was never anything between us and there never ever will be." Tears were running down Sam's face now, remembering her mum always did that to her, and Phil's was just making it worse. She loved him so much and she missed him but now…

"Oh God, Sam I'm sorry, about your mum, I didn't know" Phil said, he knew how close she was to her mum and he hated to think that he had cause her more hurt when she had been mourning over her mum.

"That's because you didn't _ask_" Sam said furiously, she started hitting him "You didn't bloody ask, you selfish bloody ponce. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you." He grabbed her wrists and held them while she worked her anger out, she was crying and upset but he knew it wouldn't do any good to calm her down, she would just work it out later anyway.

Finally Sam finished ranting and she rested her head against Phil's chest, sobbing quietly.

"I'm sorry, God I'm so sorry" he whispered to her.

"I know" she whispered back. She thought he was just being nice because she was in such a state and that was confirmed when he pushed her away.

"There's just one thing I want to ask" he said, he was still holding her shoulders and that gave her a spark of hope. "You said there would never ever be anything between you and Jack, how do you know?"

"What the hell?" Sam shouted, she couldn't believe he had just asked her that, she shook him off.

He sighed, "No, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that you said, down in the tunnels, that you wouldn't kiss me. You'd save my life but you wouldn't kiss me but you broke that. You saved my life twice, you saved my career which counts as saving my life again, and we both know you did a lot more than kiss me."

"Yeah, that's for sure" Sam muttered.

"So, how do you know?"

"Two reasons –one, he's just bought a flat with Debbie, they started dating about a month ago and though everyone had doubts at first, they agree that they are perfect together."

"That was fast."

"Yeah – and two, I'm in love with someone else."

This sent Phil's hopes spiralling, so there was someone else. Shit! That's what comes from spending a month in a coma. He let her shoulders go and turned away, "Well…I hope you two are very—happy together," he said miserably.

Sam's heart leapt at this, so Phil still cared, "I hope so too" she said the side of her mouth twitching up. "Phil can I ask you a stupid question?"

"Sure" he muttered dejectedly.

"When I thought you were going to die…it made me realise how much I love you" Phil straightened up at this, his heart leapt and he turned towards her. Sam continued, "And I was wondering where you were planning to stay after you got out of here, "Coz my place is still open, if you want it."

Phil stared at her flabbergasted, "Of course I want it, God, when you said you were in love with someone else…" he trailed off and pulled Sam into a passionate kiss. The two of them were brought crashing down to earth when the door opened, they waited a few more seconds then they parted. "I take it all's well that ends well?" Steve asked with a cheeky grin.

"You bet" Sam said again and she kissed Phil again.

"Mmm…when I get out of here I'm moving into Sam's, just like we'd planned," Phil said once he got his breath back.

"You're kidding?" Steve said amazed grinning.

"Nup" Sam said happily, she steered Phil over to the bed, she could tell he was tired and she needed to get to work or the DI was going to have her guts for garters.

"Congratulations" Steve said hugging his brother and giving Sam a kiss on the cheek.

"Should I be jealous?" Honey asked jokingly entering the room.

"No, I'm living with someone else" Sam said grinning, finding Phil's hand and squeezing it.

"Oh my God, that's great, congratulations" Honey said hugging both Phil and Sam.

"Mmm, anyway, I've got to go babe, I'll see you after work, yeah" Sam said giving Phil a long kiss goodbye.

"Looking forward to it" Phil murmured and kissed her on the cheek. Sam moved towards the door but his arm was wrapped around her waist. He pulled her back and kissed her gently on the hand then the neck and then again on the lips. "Just so you know" he whispered. He had seen the pin up _Confessions of the Heart_ too and he knew what they meant.

"Right back at'cha" she grinned and left.

* * *

C'mon, you know y'all love me, really. And don't panic, more drama returning soon. This story is far from finished. 


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: I apologise in advance for the following chapter, which is basically fluffy mush. Really, I am sorry. I don't know what I was on when I wrote it, but I seriously can't be bothered changing it. Hope you enjoy it and thanks to those people who reviewed, I have decided to be nice and extend the 'original review' challenge for a few more chapters, but so far 'Little People' is winning. –LP managed to submit a review that was honest, made a comment on the content of the chapter, gave a personal opinion, and gave a correction/criticism. So thankyou very much, and this chapter is dedicated to you—LP.

Just a short note to say that yes, I am aware that Neil's son is really called Jake; I just changed it because in this story, James is a teenager, and I wanted to differentiate the two. Oh, and Pippa is not dead, just in hospital…for now…hehehe

* * *

Chapter 26

"Samantha, my office now" Neil said curtly as she walked into the office. She walked into his office dreading what was going to happen, she knew she shouldn't have gone off like that yesterday.

"Guv, about yesterday, I'm really really sorry. I know that I was out of order and–"

"Samantha, I'm not mad and I'm not going to punish you."

"You're not?"

"No. Abi told me what was going on, she explained about your mum and I want to know, do you need some time off?"

"No, I'm fine Guv"

"Ok, well in that case I have some conditions. You must keep to strict meal times and you must eat something at breakfast lunch and dinner. You must go home at the end of your shift, no staying overtime to complete things, and you must take your antidepressants. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Guv—but I don't need my antidepressants anymore"

"Sam, I said I had conditions and you had to stick to them, if you're not willing to then I will give you two weeks leave. That includes _all _of the conditions."

"Ok - but if you just let me have another evaluation by the doctor he will tell you I don't need them anymore, I swear"

"Ok Sam, you get those results to me tomorrow morning or you start taking those pills, ok?"

"Ok" Sam agreed happier, she hadn't expected this but his terms were fair and they would probably give her more time to spend with Phil so she was happy to comply.

* * *

Sam left the DI's office in a good mood and everyone noticed the change. She was working a dog-napping case with Ken at the moment and the other day he had tried explaining it to her twenty or thirty times without success. Today Sam read over the notes herself and she made a break-through on the case. Working with Hugh hadn't been a complete waste of time, she knew basic patterns, which people stealing things used in order to minimise the risk of getting caught. The one used in these was one of the most basic, leave a safety net area around your work or home and steal from all around so there was basically a doughnut shape of crime scenes and the perpetrators home was in the middle of the hole. Ken wasn't around at the time so Sam decided to get a cup of coffee and see if he showed up. Gina approached her at the coffee machine a bit later.

"Hello" she said reservedly, with Sam it was a bit like walking on broken glass lately.

"Hi Gina" Sam said in a weird sing-song voice.

"Why are you so happy today?" Gina queried, happy that Sam hadn't bitten her head off.

"Number of reasons" Sam said, avoiding the question deliberately. She sipped her coffee thoughtfully, watching while Gina got hers. Gina was drumming her fingers on the table and suddenly something caught Sam's eye.

"What's that?" she asked immediately. Gina was wearing a diamond ring on her left ring finger. In Sam's experience that only meant one thing.

"Nothing" Gina said nonchalantly, but none-the-less she hid her left hand.

"Who's it from?" Sam asked excitedly.

"No one" Gina muttered and fled to her office. Sam followed her and shut the door behind her.

"Now, there's no danger of anyone over hearing us, spill!"

"Spill?" Gina asked amused.

"Abi uses it" Sam explained, "And don't try and change the subject."

"Ok, it's from Jonathan" Gina admitted.

"Jonathan? Jonathan Fox? I knew it" Sam declared and Gina chuckled. It was practically identical to what Sam had said when she had first found about her and Jonathan.

"Yeah, yeah, it's not public news though so shut up."

"Of course, congratulations though."

"Thanks, you know in the last two months you're the first person to have noticed"

"I'm surprised Honey didn't pick up on it, looks like her prediction came true after all."

"Mmm… thank God. It would be from here to Timbuktu in five seconds flat if she did." Sam laughed and Gina smiled, she felt like she had her friend back for the first time in weeks. Sam had been so jaded and distant for ages, probably something to do with her mum's death.

"Do you… would you like to be…Jonathan has asked his best mate to be his witness… would you be mine?" Gina asked awkwardly.

"I'd be honoured" Sam said joyfully.

* * *

Ken was in CID when Sam returned and she walked up to him bouncily, "Hey Ken, ready for some detective work? Coz I have a lead on the dog-napping case, come on." Ken just stared at her as if she had two heads. He had been having a discussion with Gary before she walked in. He had told him to watch out for Sam because she was unusually happy today, but that was putting it mildly. It was like saying that getting shot in the shoulder stung a bit.

"You coming?" she asked, standing near the door. He shuffled over after swigging back his coffee, this was too weird. Sam skipped down the stairs and greeted Marilyn cheerily. She had the car started and facing out when Ken arrived, choking back his doughnut.

"Ok, what we've got is basically a doughnut syndrome" she paused, smiling when she realised that was what he was eating. "It's loose but I recognised it. The perpetrator tries to keep the crime scenes away from their house and they end up creating a buffer zone around their house"

"So what we have to do is have a look in the buffer zone for someone who has too many dogs?"

"That's about the size of it, yeah" Sam agreed. By this time they had reached the area on the map where Sam guessed the dog-napper was. After driving up and down for a few minutes they spotted a pet shop. "You thinking what I'm thinking?' she asked grinning.

* * *

Half an hour later they had the animal welfare picking up the dogs and the pet shop owner was admitting to everything and naming names. It was a good result all round and the DI was very pleased. He still thought it fit to mention that she needed to eat something though, considering it was well past lunchtime. Sam immediately went to the canteen to appease his Royal Highness. She was sitting down eating when Honey entered, after getting her food she came over to sit with Sam. This was regarded with interest as CID and uniform didn't usually mix, June and Jim being the one exception to that rule.

"Guess what?" Honey told her grinning.

"I have no idea, what?" Sam asked shaking her head.

"I'm pregnant."

"Really? Congratulations. How long have you known?"

"Since this morning."

"Have you told Phil yet?"

"Yep, after you left the hospital this morning, so you're going to be an auntie."

Sam laughed, "Yay, I never get to see my niece so that'll be great"

The rest of the people in the canteen were watching their animated discussion with interest, as far as they knew Sam and Honey didn't even know each other that well, but there they were, talking and laughing. Tony tried to hear what they were saying but couldn't, they were talking too quietly. "What's up with those two?" Yvonne asked curiously.

"No idea, I thought you might know."

"Nup, not a clue."

"But you're Honey's best friend."

"Apparently not, looks like Sam can claim that now"

"So ask her" Tony persisted.

"Ask me what?" Honey demanded.

"Umm – since when were you and Sam best friends?"

"What's it to you?" Honey asked and Sam laughed at the expression on Tony's face, he looked like a rabbit caught in the spotlight.

"Nothing" he muttered.

"Honey, aren't you supposed to be out on patrol with Lance?" Gina asked annoyed.

"Actually, there was something I wanted to discuss with you" Honey said smiling.

"Mmm – I'm listening."

"Can we talk in your office?"

"Sure" Gina swept out of the room and Honey followed her.

"She's asking to go her office, there must be something seriously wrong, what'd you do Lance?" Tony chuckled.

"I don't know" Lance said grinning, he knew Tony was just taking the mickey.

"I don't think it's something _you _did Lance" Sam commented mysteriously. It was more like something Honey and Steve did.

It took them a moment to realise that Sam was speaking to them as if she were one of them, or a if they were equals at any case, that she had excused herself and was halfway to the door when Yvonne asked, "Do you know something we don't?"

"I might" Sam smiled secretively, "I'm sure Honey will tell you all soon" and she left.

* * *

The rest of the day passed quickly and five o'clock soon rolled around. Sam was just finishing typing the paragraph she was working on when Neil rolled by. "Sam, what are you still doing here?"

"Sorry Guv, just finishing up."

"Good to hear, I expect you to be here bright and early tomorrow morning, with that doctors note."

"Yes Guv" Sam said and he left. She closed her computer down and got her things together and left. Phil was propped up one a few pillows watching TV when Sam arrived but he immediately turned it off and got up to greet her.

"Hey beautiful" he said kissing her deeply.

"Hey" she said hugging him tightly.

"Guess what…the doctors have said I can get out of here on Friday."

"That's great."

"Have you made room for my piano yet?"

"Haven't had the heart but I was thinking, no one ever uses the computer and I need to get a new one anyway. If we got rid of the computer we could put it in there and I can set the new computer up in the lax room, or we could get a family laptop or something"

"The lax room?"

"Oh, right. Abi convinced me we needed an entertainment room. We spent a week clearing all the stuff out of the junk room and we got a new TV in there, it was time for an upgrade anyway, I think that other one was older than Abi. There's a few beanbags in there and a really comfy sofa we got at a garage sale."

"Oh, so why's it called the lax room?"

"Abi nicknamed it, you know, like relax."

"Cute" Phil muttered, he had missed so much while he had been in the coma, it felt like he was in a different place sometimes.

"Don't be like that" Sam told him kissing his cheek.

"Sorry, it's just…"

"You missed a lot, I know… but you'll catch up, and there's a lot of things that'll happen now that you're awake, better things."

"Thanks, what would I do with out you?"

"Fester and burn" Sam grinned. Phil chuckled. Sam kissed him lightly on the cheek then made to move away but he pulled her in tighter, deepening the kiss.

When they parted she said apologetically, "Sorry, this was a flying visit, there's something I need to do or Neil's going to start breathing fire."

"What?"

"I need to prove myself mentally stable or start taking my antidepressants."

"Ah, well get going then."

"I'll be back soon" Sam promised.

She had rung up for an appointment at lunchtime and thankfully there had been a late cancellation and she had managed to get in. The doctor was very nice, the same one she had seen before after five minutes in his company he had declared her mentally stable and signed something to that effect. When she had this Sam returned back to Phil's room.

"Just coming back to say bye, I have to go and get Maddie from Lynn."

"Ok, see you tomorrow yeah?"

"Of course, but we can drop by after dinner if you want."

"That'd be great."

"Ok, I'll see you in a few hours."

"Can't wait" he whispered and kissed her gently. He couldn't believe it, he was the luckiest person in the entire universe.

When Sam picked Maddie up Lynn was happy to see a smile on her face. "So it went well I take it?"

"Phenomenally" Sam grinned.

"How well is that?"

"He's still going to be moving in."

"That's great" Lynn exclaimed.

They had dinner and then went to visit Phil. Sam was so happy now, not something she would have believed possible last week.


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: you guys are lucky I'm bored. Here's another chapter folks. (Yeah, this is me procrastinating against doing my homework, I hate poetry)

* * *

Chapter 27

Friday came quickly and Sam was lucky enough to manage to get time off. Phil was soon at home and they were going to pick up the piano tomorrow. He had seen the lax room and loved it immediately. When Abi got home that night they celebrated with a drink. Steve, Honey, Lynn and Sam's dad were all there. "I knew I liked him the moment I met him, he's obviously good for you" George whispered in her ear.

After everyone left Phil and Sam were curled up together in the lounge room, Phil got up to pour another glass of scotch for each of them and found the bottle was empty, "I'll be back in a sec" he said. Sam lay back, smiling happily. She heard Phil move back into the room and she waited for him to fight her for his spot so she could tickle him, but he didn't. She opened her eyes a crack and found him lighting a candle, he also had a bottle of champagne sitting on the coffee table.

"What's the occasion?" she asked.

"You don't think this is good enough?" he asked grinning. She sat up, swinging her legs over the side if the couch, "Of course I do" she smiled and pulled him in for a kiss he was still standing but as her tongue explored his mouth he moved, so that he was on one knee.

When they parted he took a deep breath. "Ok, I know you said you wanted to take this slowly…but I love you Sam. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, will you marry me?" he asked, her pulled out a small box, dark blue velvet and he opened it. Inside was the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. It was gold with a large oval ruby set in the middle and a smaller circular diamond on either side.

"Phil, it's gorgeous…yes, yes I'll marry you" Sam exclaimed pulling him in for another kiss, he slipped the ring onto her finger and wrapped her tightly in his arms, he was still the luckiest guy in the world.

* * *

Three weeks later and Phil was deemed fit for work, he had made the most of his time while he had been off work planning his wedding. They had agreed on a moderately small wedding, only close friends and family. Phil had worked closely with Lynn and Abi during the day and he showed Sam the options they had come up with at night. That weekend was Gina's wedding and she had said Sam could bring someone but Phil had refused her invitation. "I should rest up for work" was his excuse.

"If you need to rest up for work then you shouldn't be going" Sam pointed out. But she agreed to go on her own anyway. A few other people had been invited, Adam and Denise, Mickey and Eva. Sam had been surprised when she had seen them but Eva explained that they had only been seeing each other for a few weeks so Sam was slightly less offended.

Later, at the reception it was time for the bouquet to be thrown, Eva bullied Sam into getting into the group. Gina cracked a small smile when Sam caught it, she hoped it wouldn't send her back to where she'd been after the Hugh Wallace mess but Sam seemed cool and collected and even a little excited. It seemed she was finally over it for good.

Sam was sitting at the same table as Eva and Mickey and Jonathan's cousin, Mark, at the reception for a late lunch. When he excused himself to go to the bathroom Sam leant forward. It was only a week till her wedding and she had been going to invite Eva but she had never got around to it. Now was a perfect opportunity and she'd be stupid to miss it. "What are you two doing next weekend?" she asked excitedly.

"So now we get around to what's going on, I knew there was something with you as soon as I laid eyes on you" Eva declared.

"Yeah, so what are you doing?" Sam persisted.

"Nothing, what are you doing?" Eva countered with a sly smile.

Sam grinned, "I'm getting married" Eva gasped and started coughing, evidently her wine had gone down the wrong way. Mickey spluttered up his wine, spilling it down his front.

"Who?" he asked after he had recovered from the shock.

"God, I didn't know you were that serious" Eva commented eating a prawn to clear her throat a bit.

"You knew" Mickey asked turning to her.

"No, I had no idea."

"But you know who she's marrying?"

"Yes" Eva confessed.

"Who?" he repeated turning to Sam.

"Phil" Sam replied, smiling as if this was completely normal.

"Phil? Phil Hunter?" Mickey exclaimed shocked.

"Mmm – one and the same" Sam replied.

"Wow, congratulations" Mickey said, coughing, he couldn't get his head around it.

"What's the congratulations for?" Mark asked returning to the table.

"I'm getting married next weekend" Sam replied.

"Oh, congratulations."

"Thanks."

The rest of the afternoon was very enjoyable, Mickey and Eva agreed to come over for a coffee on Tuesday afternoon, thankfully none of them were working. Phil was going back to work on Wednesday so he'd be there too. And he had already negotiated to have Saturday off. Eventually Sam had to call it a night and she returned home. Sneaking into the house holding her shoes so as not to wake Phil she crept in and got changed then crawled into bed and snuggled up to him, he was so warm.


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: I decided I couldn't stomach leaving it at fluff, here's the drama I was promising.

* * *

Chapter 28

The next morning Sam was trying to make her breakfast while Phil was kissing her neck when her mobile rang.

"I have to get that," Sam said grinning and she skipped out of his reach.

"Hello" she said and then squealed because Phil was tickling her. She pushed him away then repeated herself.

"Sam, are you alright?" Adam asked.

"Fine sir, sorry for screaming in your ear."

"That's fine, at least you're ok, there's something I have to tell you."

"What is it?" Sam asked worried. Phil stopped trying to tickle her when he saw the expression on her face change.

"It's Hugh, he's escaped."

"What?" Sam asked all the blood draining from her face, her heart froze, surely this couldn't be happening, she was so happy and now he was going to wreck it for her.

"I'm afraid it's true, and he's armed. We know he's going to be heading straight for you because he felt compelled to write it all over the walls of his cell before he walked out the front door."

"How could this happen?" Sam asked desperately.

"I don't know, someone's major cock-up. Are you at home?"

"Yes."

"Are you alone?"

"No, Abi's here" Sam said fearfully.

"I want you to drive down here immediately, bring anyone that's in your house and call any of your relatives, warn them. He might have found out where they were living and try to use them as leverage. Come down to the station and we'll see what we can do."

"Ok, I'll be there as soon as I can" Sam said, she didn't want to admit it but she was scared, she turned to Phil and he pulled her into a hug, comforting her even though he didn't know what was wrong. It had to be something pretty big to get her this shaken.

"What is it?"

"It's… Hugh, he's – escaped from prison. Walked through the front door apparently."

"What?" he exclaimed, subconsciously he held her tighter.

"We have to get out of here, he has a gun and he's coming to kill me" Sam said, tears threatening to take over.

"Mum, what's wrong?" Abi asked worried.

"Abi, go upstairs and get dressed, I want you to take Maddie and drive over to Lynn's then I want you to go somewhere where he won't think to look ok?"

"Who?" Abi asked desperately.

"Hugh, he's escaped" Sam replied and hugged her daughter when she gasped. "Will you do that for me? Please?"

"Ok mum, I'll be ready to leave in a few minutes."

"Thanks sweetie" Sam hugged her for a minute then let her go upstairs and get ready.

"Sam, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go into the station, that's what Adam said to do" Sam replied.

"Ok, I'm coming with you." He told her forcefully.

Sam smiled, he had thought she wouldn't let him come, "I wouldn't hear of anything else" she said and hugged him tightly before going upstairs to get dressed.

* * *

Phil was driving and Sam was nervously chewing her nails. They took a shortcut down a side street, they were almost there when a van reversed out in front of them, Phil didn't have time to break and they hit it head on. Hugh got out of the van smiling and Sam screamed. She looked at Phil but he was unconscious she locked all the doors and hoped that would hold him. She grabbed her phone and started dialling the number or the station but Hugh just grinned and shot at it through the windscreen. Surprised Sam dropped it, thankfully it hadn't been hit and neither had she, it was only a warning shot. This noise jolted Phil out of his stupor and he lifted his head groggily. Hugh walked around to the passenger side not hiving seen this, or not judging him a threat. Phil opened his door and grabbed Sam pulling her unceremoniously out of the car. The two of them ran down the next lane but Hugh was faster and he soon caught up with them.

Tripping Phil up he grabbed Sam's hair and she screamed. Phil turned around and saw Sam with a gun to her temple. There was a look of terror in her eyes and he scrambled to his feet.

"Don't do anything stupid and I won't hurt her" Hugh said smirking.

"Come on, this way." He dragged Sam back to the van and Phil followed looking for something he could use to his advantage.

Hugh searched Phil for his phone and took it, smashing it up on the ground. "Push that away" Hugh indicated. Phil pushed his wreck of a car away from the van, retrieving Sam's phone and turning it on, hopefully someone would think to track it when she didn't turn up at the station.

"Get in" Phil got into the back of the van, Sam was pushed in after him and the door was slammed shut. He grabbed her and held her tight. She was sobbing but he knew it was just fright, she wasn't actually hurt yet. Phil got the phone out of his pocket and quickly put in on silent. He tried to get reception but it wasn't working.

"Can't you smell that?" Sam asked, "It's lead based paint, you're not going to get reception."

He moved to the window, trying to steady himself against the van's movement. "Got some" he declared it was too risky to call so he sent a text message to Gina, that was the first name he came across in Sam's phone book.

CAR ACCIDENT ON SKIPPERS. HUGH THERE WITH GUN. IN BLUE VAN KY03NBB. Then he settled back to wait.

* * *

"Sir, we've got a problem," Gina said.

"What sort of problem?" Adam asked worried.

He hadn't told a soul about Hugh's escape yet and Sam still wasn't here.

"I assume you know Hugh's escaped then?"

"Yes, how do you know?"

"I just got a text from Sam, read it." Gina said thrusting the phone under his nose, he read it his heart sinking. "Get someone over to Skipper's Lane now, and circulate that number plate." He said and stalked off.

Steve and Honey were sent round to Skipper's lane to wait for a forensic team, Steve took one look at the car and rang the station back.

"Sir, the car here, it's Phil's."

"Are you sure?" Adam asked confused.

"Positive, maybe Sam was feeling too shaken to drive and she called him" he suggested though he knew it wasn't true.

"Ok, thanks for letting me know."

Adam wasn't please with the new developments, now they had two officers missing instead of one. Hopefully Phil could overpower Hugh but he didn't see that happening when Hugh had a gun. He probably couldn't even without the gun, Hugh was big, and insane.

"Get a trace on Sam's mobile phone, if she has it with her it could let us know where they are." He ordered.

* * *

hope you enjoyed that, hehehe, cause i am. again please RnR and i am looking forward to reveiws. pretty please. the longer the better. the more detailed the better, and i just want to thank all those people who have taken teh time to reveiw, you guys are the best.


	29. Chapter 29

so sorry it took me so long to update, i am so stressed right now what with course work and that stupid little white rat--i mean dog. at least it's pretending it's a dog, i'm still not sure.

thankyou all for your reviews, they keep me going and here's another chapter for you, complete with drama. will be focussing on a new tact in up and coming chapters, am going to try a little humour. hope you enjoy that, adn hope you enjoy this, and please wish me puck in my exams which are next week cause i am going to need it. (they're all at 8:40 in the morning, and i am so not a morning person)

Chapter 29

* * *

Almost an hour later and they finally got a trace on her phone, either it had been off before or something had been blocking the signal. They were in a private airfield off the M5, Hugh had probably taken them there to use as leverage if he was stopped but he would kill them as soon as his plane got there. They didn't have much time.

Hugh pulled Phil out of the van and threw him on the ground. "On your feet, we're going to play a little game."

"What sort of game would that be?" Phil groaned, Sam looked at him worriedly. _Only winded_ he told her with his eyes.

"You're going to run for thirty seconds then I'm going to shoot you, if I miss you can go free, if I hit you, you die. And believe me, I'm a very good shot."

"I'm not going anywhere, not without Sam" Phil growled getting to his feet.

"Sorry, but that's not going to happen" Hugh grinned evilly. He raised the gun, "If you don't start running I'll shoot you anyway" he chuckled.

"Wait" Sam cried. "Please don't do this Hugh."

"And why not" he spat.

"Because—if you kill a cop then we won't be able to escape together, they'll always be chasing us."

"Don't try to pull that, you can't claim that you love me, you bashed me over the head with a bottle, you testified against me in court and you were driving to the station with him. You're so stupid you don't deserve to live."

"No, it wasn't like that. When I hit you over the head I was confused, I had just had my daughter kidnapped and I couldn't understand why you did it. Now I do, it's because we belong together. I only testified against you because they told me to, I didn't want to, and when I heard you were out I was going to come and find you but they sent him over to escort me to the station. I think they know that…that I love you." Sam choked, it was one of the hardest things she'd had to do but it made it easier knowing that it might save Phil. She saw Hugh's glare waver and she stood up, approaching him slowly, "Look, if I really hated you I wouldn't so this would I?" and she kissed him, deeply.

Phil knew what was going on inside Hugh, he had felt it often enough. Sam had that effect on most men, he was having trouble concentrating on anything but the kiss, Phil knew why Sam was doing it but it made his blood boil, especially to see her with Hugh, though anyone would have had almost the same effect.

"What about him then, you're not involved with him?" Hugh asked mildly, indicating Phil with the gun.

"Not in a million years" Sam declared triumphantly, she knew she was winning him over.

"So you don't mind if I kill him?"

"But then they'd never leave us be" Sam crooned in his ear.

"Oi, what's going on here?" a man had come up from the other side of the hill, he had seen the van tearing over here and he was wondering what they were doing here. "This is private property" he hadn't seen the gun. Hugh raised it and shot him, he fell down stone dead.

"There's no going back now" Hugh grinned at her.

It made Sam's stomach turn but she smiled nervously back, "No, I guess not" she murmured.

"So, can I kill him?"

"No" Sam muttered and turned to him with a gleam in her eye. "Let me."

"I don't think so" Hugh chuckled.

"Please, he's made my life hell for years, he made it so I didn't get the DI job and then he gloated over it. He brainwashed my daughter while I was with you so now she's been trying to set me up with him. He's been sexually harassing me at work, and he keeps coming round my house when I don't want him to. He almost got me killed a few years ago."

"Really, how did he do that?"

"You've heard of Dennis Weaver right?"

"Mmm –I have."

"Well he was helping out Weaver and screwing his wife at the same time. He fathered her child and when Weaver found out, after Phil had wrecked his business and sold him out, he went mental and he vowed to get revenge. Just my luck that he tried to kill Phil while I was there, I should have just left him to die then" Sam explained, glaring at Phil. Hugh considered, it for a while. "Please" Sam asked and gently began taking the gun from him.

"Alright" he sighed and handed it to her.

Sam grinned and pointed the gun at Phil stepping out from Hugh, supposedly so she could get better aim at Phil, Sam suddenly swivelled and pointed the gun at Hugh.

"Just so you know, I could never love you. You are a filthy, slimy, hypocritical, dominating piece of CRAP!" she spat. "And further more, I guess a million years has passed because I love Phil, and he loves me. We're getting married you know."

Hugh was outraged at this, how dare she trick him like this. "I'll get you" he yelled and pulled out a knife. "You'll never have the gut's to use it". He yelled, Sam faltered, he was right. He lunged at her and she screamed. Phil jumped in just before Hugh came into contact with her and the three of them tumbled down into a grassy ditch. They thudded into the fence surrounding the power generator and the gun went off.

Phil sat up dizzily and pulled himself out from under Hugh, he had a deep gash on his arm but he hadn't noticed it yet, he needed to know Sam was ok. She was squashed against the fence with Hugh sprawled on top of her.

"Thanks" she coughed. "You saved my life."

"Just returning the favour, it's about time I did that, you've done it enough for me" he hauled Hugh off of her and checked to see if he was dead. He was. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I think so" Sam's shirt was covered in blood but she assumed it was Hugh's, but when she tried to get up she gasped. Turning around she saw that somehow, the knife had become lodged in her side. "Phil" she called out panicking.

He walked round and had a look. "Turn over, lie on your stomach" he told her she did as she was bid, crying out in pain. He grabbed the handle firmly and pulled it out the way it had gone in. then he took of his coat and his shirt, using the shirt as a bandage, tying the sleeves together to keep it there.

Sam noticed that he was bleeding on his arm and she crawled over to Hugh, removing his shirt she used it as a makeshift bandage for Phil's arm, tearing strips off the bottom of it and winding them tightly around the wound. Phil wrinkled his nose and Sam laughed, it did a lot to relieve the tension. "Don't worry, they'll be clean, Hugh's fussy about that" Sam assured him.

"Thank God, come on, let's get out of here. Phil helped Sam up and, ignoring her protests he picked her up and carried her to the van, "Your wound is deeper than mine, if you move you'll increase your heart rate and you'll bleed to death before help can get here" he pointed out.

"Ok" Sam sighed. Phil hugged her tightly, there was no battery left on the phone so all they could do was wait and hope someone found them in time.

* * *

again, please please please review :)

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	30. Chapter 30

thankyou so much for your pateience with me. i have made myself a promise, which i am hoping i can keep. this fic will be finished in 60 days, hopefully. i have uploaded all the chaps and i will post them all (10 more after this one)...one every six days, hopefully. so keep your eyes peeled and please please please reveiw, otherwise i might jsut decide it's not worth posting the sequal--already written i might add. hehehe. i was really bored...the yesr before last?? shows you how long ago i finished this story and how slack i have been in posting it. but thanks for holding on for me and i will really try and be better from now on. hope you enjoy this next intallmetn adn if there are any mistakes i am sorry i have had about six hours sleep in the last two days, i don't suggest staying up late the night before you intend to have your friends over for a movie night (Friday the 13th hehehe) in which you don't intend on getting any sleep. its a very bad idea and your vison goes all strange and blurry and funny...

Chapter 30

Half an hour later it didn't look as if anyone was coming, Phil was doing all he could to keep Sam awake but she was far from lucid. "Come on Sam, keep talking to me, talk about anything just talk."

"You know, when I first met Hugh, I got this… evil vibe off him. But I dismissed it, he was a doctor and a teacher at Hendon, why would he be evil? Now I wished I hadn't. Do you think we would be here if I hadn't?"

"Who knows, come on, keep talking" he encouraged. He shook Sam and she jolted awake.

"Huh, Phil?"

"Come on, no sleeping" he told her firmly.

"But I'm tired, can you take Abi, put her to bed?" Sam asked smiling up at him.

Phil was getting worried, she was hallucinating. "Abi's already in bed Sam, don't worry, I just need you to stay awake ok."

"Why?"

"Lynn's coming over, she wants us to meet her knew boyfriend" Phil invented.

"She has a boyfriend? That's great, what's his name?"

"Umm…" Phil was getting desperate now, if they didn't arrive soon it may be too late. For a moment he thought he was seeing things when he glimpsed a flash of light over the hill. A minute later he knew his prayers to a god he barely believed in anymore had been answered. A patrol car was bouncing over the ground towards them. "Tony" Phil exclaimed seeing that his large colleague was driving.

"Tony, she's dating Tony?" Sam asked confused. "Do you mean Tony Stamp?"

Tony rushed over from the car to the van where they were sitting, Sam saw him and smiled, "Tony, are you dating my sister?" she asked grinning.

"What's she talking about?" Tony asked confused.

"Never mind, she's out of it" Phil answered.

Another car pulled around the corner followed by an Ambulance, thankfully it appeared someone had thought ahead. Jack and Adam rushed over to see what was happening, "Are you alright Phil? where's Hugh?"

"Other than this, yeah" Phil answered holding up his arm as the medics loaded Sam onto a stretcher. "Hugh's over there, he's dead" Phil answered pointing to the generator.

"Do you know her blood type?" the medic asked, he didn't think he would because they just worked together but it was worth a chance. "She needs blood right away or she's going to die."

"Yeah, it's B+" Phil answered smiling, that was Sam all over. Be positive.

He followed the Medic over to the Ambulance and clambered into the back with Sam.

Phil was pacing the hospital waiting room, Sam was in theatre and they didn't know if she was going to make it. He had called Abi and she, Maddie and Lynn were on their way.

"Phil" Abi exclaimed rushing to hug him. He had already had his arm stitched up but he still grunted with pain when she touched it. "Oh God, what happened?"

"Hugh ambushed us on our way to the station, your mum was brilliant though, neither of us would be here if it wasn't for her. He had a gun and she convinced him to give it to her but then he attacked her with a knife and I tried to stop it hence the cut and… she shot him. He's dead."

"And mum?"

"She got stabbed, I'm sorry" Phil said, anguished. This was all him fault, if he'd taken a different route to the station then none of this would have happened and Sam would be safe.

Jack and Adam oversaw the collection of the body, from what they had heard Sam was in the clear but the DPS would still want to look into it so everything had to be concrete. When they had seen the body safely delivered to the morgue they decided to check on Sam and Phil, see how they were.

They found Phil on the waiting room, Abi and Lynn were there as well as Phil's daughter Maddie. Jack looked questioningly at Abi who was the only one to have noticed him so far and she mouthed, "I was babysitting her, favour for Phil"

He nodded and looked at her mouthing, "What about Sam? is she ok?"

"Still waiting on that" Abi mouthed back, it was clear she didn't want to be disturbed or more precisely she didn't want him to disturb Phil. He knew the two of them had gotten close when Sam was believed to be dead and he had often wondered how Sam felt about that, she clearly didn't mind if Abi and Phil were still close. That was good, he suspected she thought I would be good for Abi to have a father figure in her life though what sort of father Phil would be he didn't know. He looked to be doing a good job with Maddie though, she was curled up on his lap talking quietly to him. Lynn was staring off into space, continually looking at the door as though she was waiting for someone. A few minutes later an older looking man burst through the door and she stood to greet him. Jack thought he recognised him and after a moment he realised where from.

"George" he exclaimed walking over.

The man looked inquisitively over at him and then he smiled, albeit only a little bit. "Jack, what are you doing here?"

"I'm waiting to see how one of my officers is, Samantha Nixon, do you know her?"

"_Your_ officer?" George chuckled, "Do I know her? She's my daughter"

"Your daughter?" Jack asked amazed, "Well, I don't know but I think she might just give you a run for your money, she's a damn good copper."

"What happened to 'you're the best, we'll miss you?'" George asked slyly.

"Well, times change, I met Sam."

"Alright cheeky, so what are you now?"

"DCI."

"Wow, you've certainly moved up the ladder. One of mine a DCI hey? Never thought I'd live to see the day." He wiped a non-existent tear from his eye in mock proudness.

The conversation died down after that, they were all anxious to hear about Sam, Jack left after Phil promised to call him the moment he heard something. A gruelling two hours later, the nurse reappeared.

"Mr Hunter?" The nurse asked.

"Yes?"

"Good news, your wife's going to pull through."

Phil laughed out loud he was so happy, he didn't even bother to point out Sam wasn't his wife,

* * *

and again, please reveiw, this is one of your last chances to...and you know how much i love reveiws, they are like oxygen i swear. 


	31. Chapter 31

thanks to those who reveiwed and here's that update i promised. see only five days of waiting in anxious anticipation. coughcough. hope you enjoyed it and i did promise a different vein so here's my attempt at some humour, hope you like it.

* * *

Chapter 31

Sam woke up a few hours later with Phil, Abi, Maddie, Lynn and George crowded around her bed.

She hugged them all, then asked them nicely to leave because she was tired.

Sam woke up at about nine o'clock the next morning to see that Phil had already been, he had been due to start work that day and he wasn't hospitalised again so there was no reason for him not to. He had left a bunch of flowers by her bed, lilies, her favourite, and the book she had been reading. Now was a perfect time to catch up on the reading she had missed recently. She had almost finished that chapter when Jack and Adam arrived. "Hello, how are you?"

"Fine, the doctors say I might be out of here by tomorrow. The doctor said I should be able to go back to work next Monday, next Wednesday at the latest."

"That's great Sam, but don't hurry yourself. We want you completely better, not just so-so." Adam told her smiling.

"Thanks, but I think I'll have had enough bed rest by then, I'll be bored out of my mind" Sam told them smiling.

The next few days passed quickly and Sam was discharged on Wednesday. Thursday morning Phil was running late for work so Sam offered to drive him, "That way you can at least eat a healthy breakfast in the car, you know what the doctor said about your diet."

"Yeah, but you're not dressed yet, I don't have time to wait."

"I'm not getting out of the car, it's fine" Sam insisted and grabbed the keys. He sighed and followed her.

"Last stop, Sunhill station" Sam said grinning as she stopped the car.

Phil smiled, "Have I told you I love you?" he asked pulling her in for a kiss.

"Mmm - you might have mentioned it once or twice" Sam murmured kissing him back. It was a bit longer than he could afford but Phil didn't care, hopefully the DI wouldn't notice. He headed up to CID grinning but when he opened the door, the grin was diminished a little. Gary Best beckoned him over and said quite loudly, "So, who was that babe who dropped you off? Don't pretend you don't know who I'm talking about, I saw you making out in your car in front of the station?" he asked. Phil tried so hard to stop the laughter coming out and just managed to control it. He could only imagine Sam's reaction to being called a babe by Gary Best.

"Listen to yourself Gary, if Phil really was making out with a _babe_ in front of the station he's hardly likely to deny it is he, we are talking about Phil Hunter here" Debbie said smirking.

"Thanks for your charming vote of confidence Debbie, nice to know you still care" Phil said sarcastically and walked over to his desk.

"Anyway, she couldn't be that good looking, otherwise she'd be with someone else" Debbie pointed out.

Jo joined in the conversation too, "Actually she was…" Jo grinned at Suzie "Top banana."

Suzie just shook her head, she didn't like where this conversation was going.

"So come on then, who was she?" Gary asked, he looked like an eager little puppy dog.

"None of your business" Phil replied.

"She your girlfriend then?"

"You could say that, yeah."

"When you're done with her, give me her number yeah?" Gary said grinning and rubbing his hands together. Phil couldn't control the laughter this time, Sam and _Gary?_ When he had composed himself he said, "Sorry mate, I don't think she'd be interested, and no offence but I think I might keep her."

"Oh, this is _good!_" Ken exclaimed joining the conversation. "Some woman has finally won over Phil Hunter's heart. Who knew it was possible? Listen mate, if you ever need to talk, you know, when she breaks up with you." Ken said, gently.

Phil smirked, "What makes you think she's going to break up with me?" he asked smugly, Sam loved him and there was no way they could ruin this day for him, they were getting married on Saturday.

"Well, I don't know how thick she is, but sooner or later, she's going to see through you mate" he Ken said, patting him on the shoulder.

Phil shook his head, "Maybe she already has, and she likes what she sees."

Ken chuckled, "We'll see mate, we'll see."

The rest of the day past pretty quickly and before long it was time to go home, he had called Sam and asked her to pick him up at five. Needless to say Gary had given him crap when he had over heard that and Phil was determined to be there on time so Gary wouldn't have a chance to get a glimpse of Sam, he knew he was going to try. Thankfully Gary was called out just before knock off time and Phil was able to escape without incident.

"How was your day?" Sam asked him as he got in the car, he chuckled because it sounded so mundane, he loved that.

"Great, though you'll never guess what happened this morning."

"What?"

"Gary called you a babe, in front of everyone in CID" Phil said.

Sam stared at him, _surely he was joking_, "Please say you're kidding" she pleaded.

"Nope" he replied grinning. Sam buried her face in her hands, shaking with laughter and blushing from embarrassment.

"And, Jo agreed with him" Phil added, he loved this. Watching Sam blush was so much fun because it hardly ever happened and he was determined to make the most of this opportunity.

"Ok, spill. How did you get onto that topic in the first place anyway?"

"Well, I walked into CID…and Gary asked me '_who was that babe you were hooking up with out side the station?'_ Debbie dropped some snide comment and went on to say that she couldn't be that hot if she was with me but then Jo joined in and said, '_she's top banana' _I think that was some sort of private joke between her and Suzie but anyway."

Sam was laughing so hard tears were falling down her cheeks, "So no names were mentioned then? they weren't commenting that _I_ was hot, they were saying the woman you were hooking up with in the car park was hot?" she asked, just to be sure.

"Ah, but they are one and the same, and they're right. You are top banana" Phil grinned. Sam just shook her head and started the engine.

The rest of the week passed relatively quietly, Sam spent a few days resting at home and they decided not to postpone their wedding on Saturday. They had been considering it, Phil had been worried that Sam wouldn't be up to it, and that she would maintain that she was anyway. But after watching her every move he decided that she was fit enough, it wasn't like it was that tiring anyway. And she had insisted on going for a walk each morning while she had been home. He had even come with her once and he had had trouble keeping up with her, his legs weren't what they had been, after having spent a month in a coma not using them it wasn't really surprising. But Sam slowed down and waited for him, and she didn't hold it against him, or tease him about it for which he was grateful, it was more than people at work had done, Suzie especially, he got the impression she didn't like him much.

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Again, please please please reveiw.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Sam decided to have her hens' night at home on Friday night. Honey, Lynn and Eva came over and she and Abi and the three of them played cards for a while. They fell asleep in the lax room, Sam on one beanbag, Eva on the other, Abi and Honey on the couch and Lynn in the armchair. Abi, Lynn, Eva and Sam all woke with hangovers the next morning and Honey laughed, that was one good thing about being pregnant, though she said she wasn't enjoying the morning sickness very much, apparently she got it worse then most people. Sam made breakfast while Honey and Abi showered, they were her bridesmaids so they had stayed, Eva and Lynn had gone home to their own houses. They ate while she showered and she ate while they helped each other into their dresses. Then they helped her into hers, did her hair and her make-up. An hour later they stood back to admire their work. Sam gazed into the full-length mirror, even she had to admit they had done a fantastic job. Her dress was floor length, off white, with off the shoulder crumpled sleeves. It had a v-neck that wasn't too revealing or too conservative and it went a bit lower at the back. Her hair was pinned up on one side with white orchids intertwined with it and her veil was secure by a small clip beaded with tiny, imitation pearls. She had on her mother's peal necklace as something old, her dress was new, the hairclips were borrowed, and her earrings were blue. It wasn't like Sam believed in the superstitions but Abi had insisted on it and Honey had reinforced it.

There was a knock at the door interrupting Sam's reverie and she went to answer it. When Honey and Sam protested it she told Honey that she had to help Maddie do her hair because she had promised and she reminded Abi that she hadn't done her hair yet. "Anyway, it's probably Dad" she reasoned and went to answer the door. She swung the door open ready to greet her father but instead, on the doorstep stood Jack. He was looking at something that interested him over the road so he didn't notice her attire at first. She contemplated slamming the door in his face and making Abi answer it but she dismissed it, she wasn't a rude person by nature and she wasn't going to start now.

"Sam, I was wondering if you could come in today, we're a little short hand- wow!" he exclaimed.

Sam blushed a little before answering, "Thanks"

"What –erm, what's the occasion?" he asked, she looked like she was about to get married…but he didn't want to offend her if she wasn't.

"Can't you guess?" Sam asked grinning at the uncomfortable look on his face, she knew she was going to have to tell him sooner or later but she hadn't quite pictured it like this.

"Umm…are you –getting married?" he asked dubiously.

"Yep" Sam agreed grinning, "So what were you saying about being short handed?"

"Umm, never mind, it's obvious that you're busy. I'll see you tomorrow yeah?"

"Course" Sam agreed and closed the door.

"Who was that?" Honey asked poking her head round the corner.

"Jack" Sam answered laughing.

"Jack Meadows?" Honey asked laughing too, "God, I would have loved to see that, what did he want?"

"He wanted me to come in today instead of tomorrow"

"Oh, guess he got a bit of a shock then"

"Yeah, I'm going to have a lot of explaining to do tomorrow."

Eventually everyone was dressed and ready and the car had arrived as had Sam's dad and they all set off. Abi laughed at her mum saying she looked like an excited teenager and Sam just grinned, she could believe it.

Phil was standing at the front of the church while Steve, his mum, and Josh, his best man, fussed over him. He was nervous as all hell and he kept rocking back and forward on the balls of his feet. He could see his family and a few close friends seated around the small chapel, there were his Uncle and Aunt and cousins seated on the left in the third pew. The first was reserved for his mum and brother and in the second was his great Aunt and her Husband. In the fourth he could see Sam's cousin having an animated conversation with his mum's cousin. On the right hand side was Sam's brother Jordy, they had managed to contact him three days ago, he lived abroad as a foreign correspondent and it was often hard to get in contact with him but they had managed and his flight had arrived early this morning. He was still yawning from the jet lag. With him was his daughter, Sam's niece, her mother was in Australia. Her parents had never married and they had broken up about a year ago. Sam had been really looking forward to seeing her, even though she had only met her a few times. Beside them and behind were Sam's cousins and their children and behind them were her aunts and uncles. Sam always seemed like the person who would have a very small family, perhaps an only child with her parents being only children, and her grandparents only having one or two siblings that they weren't really in contact with. But in reality it was huge. She had thirteen or fourteen cousins who all had two or three children each plus four Aunties' and Uncles' and then there were the honorary Aunties and Uncles and their children, and even their children. The weird thing was they were all really close, Phil could barely remember all his cousin's name's let alone know what they did last summer. Sam had explained the reason they were all close was because they had spent all of their summer holidays together. They had all lived within walking distance of each other's houses and they had all gone to the same school but he still found it hard to believe that there actually were families like that. His family was about as opposite as you could get. His dad didn't like his mum's family and vice versa so consequently they hadn't liked him. And his mum hadn't liked his dad's family and vice versa, but at least they spoke to him. Scattered in amongst the family were a few close friends and almost at the back he could see Eva and Mickey, they had looked uncomfortable when they first got here but now they were talking and laughing with a couple of Sam's cousins. At least everyone was getting along, at his family gatherings in the past, mostly Christmas he had usually hid in his room or gone out to escape the plate throwing competitions, usually at other people's heads. A lot of his mother's family had refused to come to the wedding so that eliminated most of the tension. His father's family wasn't so bad where grudges were concerned and they liked his mum well enough, it was just her family they didn't get on with. He was beginning to understand why Sam had reacted in such a big way over Glen's betrayal, she had been used to loving happy families and she was thrown into the big bad world in a jolt. That was why she had joined the police force, to make it less of a big bad world.

"Are you done fussing yet, she'll be here soon" he asked getting annoyed.

"Hey, calm down. You weren't this jumpy when you married Cindy." Steve commented.

"I know" Phil moaned, he didn't like Steve pointing out the obvious.

"Just think what it's like for Sam, you've done this before, she hasn't."

"Stop pointing out the obvious, you're just making me feel worse." Phil complained.

The music started and Steve and his mum hurried back to their seats. The double doors opened with a jolt and there stood Maddie with her basket of rose petals and lavender. She started walking up the aisle scattering it and then Sam come into view. She looked stunning in her white dress and the flowers in her hair, they made her look even more beautiful. But what really made his heart soar was the look of utter joy on her face, the veil hid it a bit, but it was very sheer and he could still tell she was really happy. He didn't even need her face for that, it was the way she stood, the way she held herself, the way she walked, down the aisle towards _him._ Her father was walking next to her looking very proud, and each step she took closer, his heart rate increased.

The dress swayed, almost in time to the music and there was a light breeze coming through the church making her hair move and catch the sunlight. It was a bit longer now, and it looked good on her. The stained glass windows were throwing different coloured lights onto her skin and the dress making it look as though it was a dream. And it felt like one, he had never imagined in his wildest dreams that their relationship would come this far. Even when they were together he hadn't thought she'd agree, even if he'd been able to work up the courage to ask her. Even now he still couldn't quite believe it.

And then there she was, her hand was passed into his and her father took his seat as they ascended the last steps to the altar together.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony, if there in anyone present today that knows of a good or just reason why they shouldn't be married, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

Sam held her breath waiting for someone to speak, that was one of her fears, that someone would say something and the wedding would be cancelled. But there was silence.

"Phillip Mark Hunter, will you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, forsaking all others, as long as you both shall live?"

Phil felt a strange sense of pride at being able to stand there and truthfully say "I will" he had absolutely no intention of cheating on Sam, ever. And he knew he would never ever have cause for that to waver in the slightest. He took the ring that Josh offered him and slipped it onto Sam's finger.

"Samantha Alice Nixon, will you take this man to be your lawfully wedded Husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in heath, for richer or poorer, forsaking all others, all long as you both shall live?"

Sam took the ring offered to her by Josh and slid it onto Phil's finger as she said, "I will"

"Before this company and in the sight of God, I pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride"

Phil lifted Sam's veil slowly, then cupped her face in his hands and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. Sam let go of her bouquet with one hand and wrapped one arm around Phil's neck, deepening the kiss. It was their first as a married couple and she wanted it to be special. When they parted they walked down the aisle, smiling at people but never letting the other go. Their heads were bowed against the fall of confetti but she felt as if her feet weren't even touching the ground. Phil got into the back of the limo first and she slid in after him, ignoring the calls of everyone else she shut to door and kissed Phil gently. "We did it" she whispered and his only response was to kiss her more.

Jack got to the station a bit late and he had a very confused look on his face, he had never even had the slightest hint that Sam was even involved with someone, thought that wasn't really his area, it was more Gina's turf. He decided to have a word to her about it when he found her, but Debbie found him first, "What is it Jack, weren't you going to ask Sam to come in today?"

"Yeah, I was" he said non-comittaly.

"So, what happened?"

"She was busy."

"Jack, there's something you're not telling me."

"Ok, but what ever I say doesn't leave this room, ok?"

"Sure" Debbie agreed immediately, it must be big if he was swearing her to secrecy.

"Did you have any idea…did Sam tell you she was seeing anyone?" he asked.

"That's an odd question to be asking, no she didn't. Who is it?" Debbie asked happy for any goss he cared to share.

"I don't know."

"But you just said…you didn't catch her walking around her house with a half naked man then?"

Jack shuddered at the mental image that provided and shook his head.

"Then what make you ask?"

"She told me that she was getting married today" he answered.

"You're kidding right?" Debbie asked shocked.

He shook his head, "No, she even answered the door in her pretty white dress and flowers, and I could hear Abi and another woman laughing inside. I assume they were her bridesmaids."  
"I can't believe she didn't tell me" Debbie said hurt.

"I know, she kept that really quiet didn't she? I mean I didn't even know she was seeing someone. I wonder if Gina knows?" Jack mused.

"I don't know, she might, but she's been a bit wrapped up in her own world, haven't you noticed? The whole thing with Jonathan has been occupying the other half of her brain, the half she doesn't use for police work." Debbie mused

"What whole thing with Jonathan?" asked Jack confused.

"Didn't you know, she got married to him last weekend, I heard her and Sam talking about it in the toilets last Friday."

"She WHAT?" Jack asked amazed, he had never pictured Gina getting married, ever.

Debbie just laughed at him and shook her head. "I'm going to find the DI" she announced and left.

But she looked everywhere and he was no where to be seen.


	33. Chapter 33

thankyou so much to all those who reveiwed, you guys are the best. hope you have your competition entries underway, cause unless i hear otherwise, the comp does finish on 20th August.

anyway on with the story. oh, and i edited this chapter so i hope you appreciate it. with my busy schedual and all, back at school again. it sucks.

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Chapter 33

Phil and Sam were driven to Taylor Park where the rest of the bridal party met them for photos, it was one of the most prestigious gardens in the whole of London so they were very privileged to be here. Sam had pulled a few strings with the people she knew and they had managed to get a section all to them selves.

After the photos they walked to the Taylor Manor where they were having the reception, again thanks to Sam's contacts. She was distantly related to the Taylors' after whom it was named. And she had even managed to get an open bar at a fraction of the cost.

The festivities lasted long into the night but for Sam her favourite part was where Steve stood up to say the best man speech, he knew the two of them a lot better than Josh did so they had agreed that he make the speech.

"Good evening everyone. Ok, now we have to formalities over and done with I would like to make a toast, to Sam and Phil. This won't be like normal toasts with a good laugh because their relationship hasn't had much luck so far. They've had to face a lot of obstacles to get here today and I'd like to reflect on them. I didn't find out that they were seeing each other till later on, only about two months ago. But from then on it was obvious of Sam's love for Phil, I don't know about his love for her at that point because he wasn't saying or doing much." A few light chuckles were scatted throughout.

"But I knew before the coma that he definitely cared about her, probably more than he had for any other woman. The two of them have been through a lot and they are still going strong so I'd like to be the first to say that I believe that they can make it through anything. They have faced more now than other couples have to face in a life time and they still came out smiling. So good luck to the two of you, and Sam, I'd just like to say thanks, I think all hope for Phil was lost before you came and made him want to change."

Josh also stood up to say something as the title bearing best man, "I haven't been around you two enough to make funny jokes or say something to that effect, but what I can say is that the effect that you've had on Phil, Sam, it's phenomenal. I don't think I've seen him this happy in a long time."

Then Sam's dad stood up to say something, "A lot of people today have said how much Sam's changed Phil, or how much he's changed because of her but no one seems to be commenting on how much she's changed because of him. I don't want to embarrass you honey but before that whole Glen Western fiasco you were a happy, open person. I thought I'd lost you after that but Phil brought you back. Even when you'd been pushed over the edge by Hugh Wallace, and for that I thank him. For bringing my daughter back."

At midnight Sam and Phil decided it was time to go home, they both had to work in the morning. When they arrived outside their home, Phil insisted on going round the side of the car and opening her door for her. He picked her up and carried her over the threshold.

"You didn't have to do that you know" she said when he put her down, it was obvious he was still having trouble using his muscles after so much disuse.

"Yes I did. I wanted to. Welcome home, Mrs Hunter." Sam smiled delightedly, it sounded so…great. "Welcome home Mr Hunter" she replied. Phil kissing her gently and they walked up the stairs together.

Neil checked his watch for the fiftieth time. Ten minutes. He would be meeting Andrea in ten more minutes. He had a lot of arse kissing to do if he hoped to make this up to her. When he had found out about his wife's illness every moment he spent with her had been wracked with guilt, so he had broken it off. Now he knew what had been causing Pippa's illness, and the thought made him sick. It was a very rare STD that a man had had brought back from East Africa, and infected her during their one night stand. His marriage was over.

James had heard their screaming from his room, when they had thought he was out, and he was furious with his mother as well. Neil was encouraging him not to hold it against her because she was his mother after all, but James still maintained that he wanted to live with Neil as soon as the divorce was finalised.

During the argument, Neil's affair with Andrea had come out too, but James had seen fit to forgive him as it was "apparent that you love her, when you talk about her your face…kinda softens I guess…it's hard to explain so I'm not going to bother trying"—or at least that was what James had said. Neil flashed back to the day his marriage ended. He could hear the slam of the door as Phillipa walked out in disgust, her last comment still floating in the air _"I want you out of here by the time I get back"_

"Dad" James asked, standing in the doorway. Neil looked up and his expression must have said it all. "You're getting a divorce, aren't you" his voice sounded resigned.

"Yeah. How much did you hear?" he asked.

"All of it" James shrugged.

"I'm sorry, you shouldn't have had to listen to that. I thought you were out"

James shrugged, sitting down beside his father. "I knew it was coming, eventually. I wouldn't have wanted you two to get back together just cause mum was sick. That would be stupid" there was silence for so long that Neil almost felt he couldn't breathe, it was so stifling. But he didn't know what to say. Eventually James broke the silence again. "So, when do I get to meet your girlfriend?"

To say that it shocked Neil would have been an understatement. He was so stunned he actually found himself telling the truth. "I don't have one…I broke up with Andrea when…"

"When mum got sick" James filled in his blank

"Yeah," Neil nodded.

"So talk to her about it. If she loves you like you love her, then she'll understand" James shrugged and left his father to his thoughts.

Neil had tried to find opportunities to talk to Andrea after that, but he had run out of time. His mind flashed back to when James had come into the station. They had been talking in his office when Andrea had knocked on the door. "Guv?" she requested, her eyes flicking towards James and her body stiffening as she realised this must be the reason that Neil had dumped her. He had wanted to stay with his wife for his son's sake.

"Not now Andrea, can't you see I'm busy?" Neil said, not unkindly.

"Andrea?" James cottoned immediately, having inherited his father's sharp wit and quick mind. "You're my dad's girlfriend?" he asked stunned. She was attractive, there was no denying it, and he was mildly surprised that she was interested in his dad.

"What?" Andrea had blinked surprised.

After that they had agreed they needed to talk.

"So, what's going on Neil?" Andrea was the first to break to silence. They had agreed to meet here, at Taylor Park, because it was less likely that someone from work would see them but she felt out of place here, amongst so much beauty.

"I wanted to tell you for ages, I just couldn't find the right time…I love you Andrea. Pippa's filed for divorce …I want you back Andrea. I can finally give you what you deserve."

Andrea was silent for a moment contemplating all this meant, she loved Neil too and she was happy that he wanted her back, even happier that James seemed to be happy about it. "Why did it take you so long, you afraid I was going to turn you down?" she asked grinning.

"The thought had crossed my mind, yes," Neil admitted sheepishly. In answer to that Andrea just kissed him and asked, "So, where are you living now?"

"That town house, but it's only temporary, Pippa wants to sell it."

"Why don't you move in with me?" she asked.

Neil hesitated, "I would but James wants to live with me, instead of his mum, I couldn't ask you to put up with him as well as me."

"You're not asking me, I'm insisting." Andrea answered.

"You sure you're ok with it?" he checked

"Yes" she answered as though she was talking to a small child, "I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't."

"Just checking. In that case, thankyou, I'd be honoured to" and that was settled. They continued walking around the gardens, talking and enjoying the beautiful scenery. Andrea stopped a little while later, peering over a hedge, "Look, there's a wedding, or a wedding party anyway." She commented. There was a photographer taking photos, the couple looked so much in love—though she couldn't see their faces she could tell by the way they stood, they hadn't let go of each other's hands the whole time.

Neil peered over the fence too and looked intently at the people there, he thought he recognised some of them but he couldn't be sure.

The next morning Sam was on her way into the CID office when Jack cornered her, "A word" he said, indicating his office. Sam followed him sighing.

Jack sat there in silence for a minute then asked, "So, how long have you been seeing this guy?"

"About six months" Sam answered awkwardly, she couldn't see why Jack would have a problem with it but he was acting really strange.

"What's he like?"

"My Husband? He's kind, smart, funny…I won't bore you with the details." Sam answered.

"I'm glad you're happy, what does your dad think about him?"

Sam laughed, "He thinks he's God's gift" she replied.

Jack smiled, that told him more than anything else that Sam's _Husband_ was a good guy, he would trust George Nixon's judgement over anyone else's, except maybe his own, it depended on the situation.

Ok, so it's not going to stop you doing your job?" he asked.

"How would it do that?" Sam asked confused.

"I'm not quite sure, I just had to ask. Ok, you can go now" Jack told her and Sam left more confused than when she had arrived.

Sam was on her way to the canteen during morning refs when Gina cornered her, she pushed her into her office and closed the door. "What's this I hear about you getting married?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah. Your flowers worked a treat" Sam smiled, wondering if Jack had said something to Gina.

"And you told Mark, Jonathan's cousin before me?" Gina asked hurt.

"Oh, about that…I wasn't going to tell anyone at work, not yet anyway." Sam stammered.

"Ah, so you didn't trust me to keep it a secret?" Gina asked offended

"No, it's not that, it's just…I thought you might laugh" Sam confessed. If Eva's reaction was anything to go by, Gina's would be ten times worse.

"So…I know this person?" Gina asked curious, not so mad anymore.

"Yeah" Sam answered awkwardly.

"Ok, come on. Spill."

"Gina" Sam moaned.

"Come on, it's the least you can do for not inviting me to your wedding when I invited you to mine" Gina insisted.

Sam sighed knowing she was right, "Fine, meet me for a drink in the Canley Arms tonight and I'll…_introduce_ you" Sam agreed.

"Ok, see you there at eight" Gina relented after considering it for a moment.

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as always, reveiws please please please. i live for them.


	34. Chapter 34

please accept my most sincerest apoligies for not updating sooner, course work has gone into overload and i am currently trying to keep my head above water. really am very sorry--but i have to warn you, don't be hanging out of anymroe update in the near future. i really should be doing homework.

hope you enjoy this chapter and as always please please please review.

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Chapter 34

Unfortunately Gina had to cancel their drink that night so Sam was off the hook, though she did say she'd reschedule it soon. For some reason there was a big lapse in the amount of crime, it was good for their crime figures but it didn't give them much to do. To relieve the boredom Sam made a habit of jumping Phil in the corridor when no one was looking and dragging him into deserted briefing rooms. Phil _really _liked the new Sam. He also liked to see her jump whenever she saw Gary or Jo, though they had no idea why. Phil and Sam had both adopted Jo's saying, _top banana _and they said it to her as often as they could. "_This is great Jo, top banana" _or _"You got something? Top banana" _If the other was in earshot they'd crack up with silent laughter, most of the time Jo noticed and she would frown but she'd get on with the job anyway.

Sam had felt sorry for Jo when she broke up with her girlfriend Tessa, but it seemed that she had temporarily inherited Gina's gift for sensing when things changed. Jo came into work one morning a bit happier than usual.

"So, who is she?" Sam asked in a low voice, she and Jo had become reasonably good friends recently.

"Don't know what you're talking about" Jo lied.

"Come on, please?" Sam asked smiling.

"Ok, I went clubbing last night, a friend dragged me out because she was sick of me moping, and I met this gorgeous girl. Her name's Juliet, Juliet Becker"

"Really, what does she do?" Sam asked intrigued, was this the same Juliet Becker who had worked at Sunhill for six months?

"She's a mechanic" Jo answered.

"Mmm –let me guess, specialises in motorcycles?" Sam asked

"How'd you know?"

"Just one question, does she know you work at Sunhill?"

"No, just that I'm in the MET"

"Ok, yeah, she used to work here, till she got stabbed then she left that MET."

"Who's that then?" Phil asked overhearing her.

"Juliet Becker" Sam replied.

He smirked, "You interested in her?" her asked Jo "You're not the first one."

Jo sighed, "Am I the only woman in this office you haven't slept with?" she asked annoyed.

"No" Phil replied "There's also Suzie, but between you and me, you're not the only woman Juliet was interested in either."

"Really?" Sam asked interested, she hadn't had much to do with Juliet when she was here and she hadn't heard about her relationship with another officer at the station, "Who was it."

"Believe it or not, our madam McAllister isn't as innocent as she seems."

"What, Debbie?" Sam asked astounded.

"Yep."

"How do you know?" Jo asked slowly. She had noticed he hadn't excluded Sam in that, but from what she'd heard he'd been quite keen on her for a while but she wasn't having a bar of it.

"We were working a case at the time, she provided me with some very…accurate descriptions" Phil replied winking at Debbie who came over.

"My ears are burning, what's up?" she asked.

"We were just discussing Jo's new girlfriend, Juliet Becker" Phil answered.

Debbie blanched, "Juliet, how is she? What's she doing?" she asked sitting down. Sam and Phil left Jo and Debbie to their conversation.

A few days later Sam had come back to work she was dealing with _another _domestic, she had been temporarily assigned to VPU until Ramani got back from her training camp, and she was bored. She remembered as a PC she had learned to hate domestics and avoid them like the plague. She spotted Phil in the hallway and she propelled him into a briefing room.

"Where have you been all day?" she asked kissing him gently.

"Jack's got me heading up this drug case, should be a big haul at the end of it" he replied kissing her back deeply. She grinned and wrapped her arms around him tightly. He guided her to the bench where she could sit down and he ran his hands inside the material of her shirt. It was lunchtime anyway so no one would be looking for them. There was a knock on the door and Sam had just ducked behind the photocopier when the door opened. Phil glanced up from the papers he was shuffling to see Smithy, "Yes?" he asked.

Smithy frowned, Phil was looking…guilty but he couldn't think why. "You know that guy you asked us to pick up? He's down in custody."

"Mmm, ok, I'll be down there in a minute, just going to…finish up here" Phil said holding the papers up. Smithy frowned again then nodded and left.

"Whew, that was close" Phil remarked turning back to Sam.

"Who cares" she answered and kissed him gently. The door creaked again and they heard someone enter but by now Sam was beyond caring, who ever it was would just have to deal. She hesitated a little longer then ended the kiss and turned to see who had so rudely interrupted them. It was Neil and for once he looked surprised.

"Did you want something?" Sam asked mildly as though it was a completely normal thing to be kissing Phil Hunter in a briefing room, which it was.

"Ummm…Phil, I wanted a word about that drugs case" Neil stammered, finding his voice.

"Ok Guv" Phil said and made to leave. Sam wrapped her arms around him tighter and kissed him again, it only lasted a few seconds, then she disentangled herself, grabbed her bag and left.

"You're having an affair with Sam?" Neil asked incredulously.

"No" Phil replied.

"You were kissing her and she's married, I think that constitutes an affair Phil" Neil said, he couldn't believe Sam would be so stupid.

Phil frowned annoyed, "How do you know she's married?" he asked

"Things travel fast in a station, you know that" Neil answered, "Now, I thing the best thing to do would be to end it, she's not going to thank you when her husband find out about this"

"Her _husband _knows about this" Phil spat back, Neil frowned confused. "I'm her husband, like i said, i'm nto having an afair with her" Phil said in an exaggeratedly slow voice, "You shouldn't just assume things you know."

"What?" Neil asked, he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You heard me" Phil muttered.

"I think I heard you" Neil answered.

"Mmm –and let me guess, you don't think you heard correctly because I said she was my wife, well you did, she is, and we're very happy." Phil retorted.

Neil shook his head, Phil couldn't be telling the truth, he'd ask Sam about it later, right now he needed to discuss the drugs case.

Sam was around the corner before she gave into the laughter, the look on Neil's face had been priceless. Gina saw her leaning against the wall laughing and came over, "Care to share the joke?" she asked.

"Neil, oh God his face" Sam burst into a fresh bout of laughter, "You should have seen it"

"What was so funny?" Gina asked again. Sam just shook her head and started laughing even harder. She managed to find her way to the bathroom where she washed her face, Gina followed, still pestering her to find out what was so funny.

When Sam had calmed down enough she said, "Neil walked into the briefing room and…he saw something he probably shouldn't have. The look on his face was so funny, you had to be there"

"Mmm, ok, you've danced around it long enough, what did he see?" Gina asked getting slightly annoyed.

"We never did reschedule that drink did we?" Sam asked

"No, but what has that got to do with what Neil saw?"

"Well, he walked in on me and my husband…kissing" Sam confessed, blushing slightly.

"Oh" Gina smirked, "So your husbands a police officer then?" she asked.

"Yes, so what about tonight, you free?"

"Tonight's good, is he an officer at this station, or just visiting?"

"You'll have to wait for tonight, see you at the Canley Arms at eight thirty" Sam replied and left the bathroom.

Neil came round the corner looking slightly confused and he saw Sam, hoping she could clear a few things up for him, and stop him committing Phil to a mental institution, he called her over.

"Yes Guv?" Sam asked chirpily.

"Umm –I don't know how to say this Sam…but Phil, he's erm…he's claiming you're his wife" Neil muttered, he could see Gina was watching their conversation intently and he hoped for Sam's sake, and for Phil's, that she couldn't read lips.

"And the problem here is?" Sam asked shrugging her shoulders.

"Well…erm...you're not…are you?" Neil asked awkwardly.

"Yes, I am" Sam answered. He blanched, this was the last answer he had been expecting, embarrassment, anger, her to feel flattered, confusion, but not total confirmation.

"You're kidding right?" he asked astounded, he could see Gina smirking to herself, did she know?

"No, but Guv, this isn't exactly public knowledge. Do you think you could keep it to yourself for a while please?"

"Erm…sure, who exactly does know?" he asked.

"From the station? Me and Phil obviously, Honey and Steve, and Eva and Mickey--although they're not at this station. And probably Gina, by tonight, that's all" Sam answered.

"So Jack doesn't? Adam doesn't?" Neil asked

"Nope, they'll know soon though, I'm getting my new warrant card in a few weeks."

"Your new warrant card?"

"Yeah, it's got my new name on it, Samantha Hunter" Sam answered smiling. Phil didn't know she had decided to change her name yet, but she had had a long talk with Abi and Lynn. They had helped focus the positives and negatives about changing your name after you're married, she had carefully weighed them and decided to change it, but to keep it a surprise for Phil.

"You're changing you're name?" Neil asked astounded. It was going to be difficult having two DS Hunters around.

"Yep, but don't mention it to Phil, I want it to be a surprise."

"Sure thing, anyway, Phil was looking for you, he has something he wants to discuss."

"Thanks" Sam said and walked off to find Phil.

She found him sitting in the briefing room she had left him in, so much for looking for her. As soon as she entered she knew something was wrong. "Phil, what is it, talk to me baby" she whispered, slinging an arm around his shoulders.

"Sam, there's something I need to ask you, I know you wont be too happy about this but…Neil has asked me to go undercover, we need someone on the inside if this is going to work. I really need to catch these guys."

Sam took a minute to digest this information, Phil going undercover meant she wouldn't be able to see him, wouldn't be able to talk to him at all, the only way she'd know what was going on with him was through the station. That wouldn't give her much. "How long?" she asked biting her lip, she didn't want him to go but she knew that this was something he had to do and she wasn't about to try to stop him, he would just resent her. He had been working on this case for weeks now, and he had thought he was nearing a result.

"Umm…I don't know. A month, maybe two, three at the most."

"That's a long time"

"I know, that's why I want your opinion, I wouldn't do this if you didn't want me to, you know that"

"Yeah, I know" Sam murmured. "How dangerous are we talking?"

"Pretty heavy stuff, they have been known to use firearms" Phil answered.

"Any chance they're going to get you to try drugs?" Sam asked.

"I doubt it, they aren't users themselves."

"Well, I'm not going to pretend I'm ok with it, but you have to do what you have to do" Sam said sighing, "But if you get yourself killed, or hurt in anyway, I'm not going to be very sympathetic."

Phil grinned in appreciation, "Who are you kidding Sam? You're going to be a Florence Nightingale if I get hurt," he said.

Sam smiled, "Well, it's nice to keep up the pretence" she murmured. "How long till you go undercover?"

"A week, maybe less."

"So you'll still be able to come to Lynn's for dinner on Saturday night?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world."


	35. Chapter 35

thanks for your patience, slowly getting to the end of this story. hope you like this next chapter.

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Chapter 35

It was Wednesday when Lynn had invited them over for dinner, Sam had suspected she had an ulterior motive but hadn't been able to wheedle it out of her yet.

On Thursday after work she went round to tell Lynn about Phil's undercover op. She was nicely sympathetic to how Sam was feeling but after a while Sam turned the conversation back to dinner.

"So, you going to tell me your ulterior motive yet?" she asked smiling over the cup of tea she'd been given.

"Oh fine, I know you always know when something's up but do you have to rub it in and do you have to be right all the time?" she asked annoyed. Sam didn't reply, waiting for an answer. "Ok, it's because I want to introduce you to my boyfriend. I thought that would be better in case he let something slip then you let something slip, ok?" Lynn said exasperatedly.

"Ok, so I know this guy?" Sam asked intrigued.

"Yeah, he's a police officer at Sunhill, he was at the conference I went to a couple of weeks ago" Lynn murmured.

"Really, who is it?" she mentally ran through the officers at Sunhill, mentally checking age against availability against possibility. She mind had already provided her with an answer though. It would be funny if it was Tony, after all Phil had predicted it. Lynn hadn't answered yet and after she finished her calculations she realised it could only be Tony, "It's Tony Stamp isn't it?" she asked grinning.

"Always the copper" Lynn mumbled as way of acknowledgment.

"Oh my God, that's so weird" Sam explained and began explaining the whole prediction scenario to Lynn.

When Sam arrived home Phil was already cooking dinner, she snuck up behind him and wrapped her arms around him waist.

"Honey, I'm home" she murmured. He laughed, turning around to kiss her.

"Isn't that meant to be my line?" he asked.

"Probably" Sam murmured kissing him back. "Guess what?"

"What?"

"You are psychic."

"And how do you figure that?"

"You predicted Tony and Lynn were going to get together."

"You're kidding?" Phil exclaimed as the reality of this struck him. "That's why she invited us over for dinner?"

"Mmhmm" Sam confirmed.

"Wow, congrats to them."

"No, it's _kudos _to them" Abi corrected.

"Whatever" Sam said glaring at her daughter with a twinkle in her eye. Abi stuck her tongue out and Sam laughed as Phil exaggeratedly pretended to steal it. Abi jerked away, easily given enough time to and smacked his hand.

"Well, who would have guessed." Phil said.

"Mmm –I'm glad she's found someone" Sam agreed, "And I'm glad it's a good guy," she added.

"Ah, but you don't know any of Tony's deep dark secrets, everyone at Sunhill has them" Phil announced mockingly.

"Give me examples" Sam demanded laughing.

"June, she had a son no one knew about. Sheelagh, she had that affair with Des, Debbie and the last Super, not to mention Juliet. Adam and Gina used to be an item. Neil and Andrea their affair. Do I have to continue?"

"No, Tony and his child abuse charge" Sam mentioned

"Ah but that's not deep and it's hardly dark considering it wasn't true" Phil pointed out.

"Well then that just goes to show that not everyone at Sunhill has deep dark secrets." Sam pointed out, she was glad he hadn't mentioned Hugh or Glen, or her at all. He knew that she had deep dark secrets.

"Anyway, there was something I wanted to talk to you about, you know that drink I was going to have with Gina to _introduce _you two? Well she rescheduled it."

"When for?"

"Tonight."

"Thanks for the warning."

"Your welcome, are you coming?"

"Of course, wouldn't miss it for the world, can't wait to see Gina's face."

Sam grinned, "Me either."

They arrived at the bar a couple of minutes late and Phil said he'd park the car while Sam went in to meet Gina. Gina was sitting at a table on the other side of the room and Sam ordered two drinks then walked over to her.

"Where is he then?" Gina asked immediately.

"He's parking the car, he'll be here soon" Sam answered taking a sip of her drink.

"So, give me a bit of background on him, what's he like, does he have any annoying habits, does he have any kids?"

"He has a daughter, she's almost seven, he does have few annoying habits, but they're cute annoying. I just laugh at them, and he's sweet, kind, funny, adorable." Sam answered Gina's questions in reverse order.

"Isn't that Phil Hunter? What's he doing here?" Gina asked as she turned her attention away from Sam to the door where Phil was walking in. Sam rose from her seat and beckoned Phil over, he saw her and grinned. Gina stared at Sam, what was she doing? She watched amazed as Phil walked right up to Sam, placing his hand on her waist and kissed her gently on the lips, "Hey babe" he said softly.

"Hey, you took your sweet time" Sam replied grinning and moving down the chair to make room for him.

"Yeah, I didn't want to scratch the car again, you know what it cost last time because of your parking" he joked.

"I'll have you know that wasn't my fault, the other car was parked badly not me" Sam protested.

"_He's_ your husband?" Gina asked incredulously. Phil whipped out the camera and took a photo, "Hey, give me that" Gina demanded annoyed.

He showed the photo to Sam and they both laughed, "Now you see why Neil's face was so funny?" Sam asked.

Gina smirked, imagining walking in on Sam and Phil kissing in a briefing room, that would have been funny. "Yeah, I see what you mean" Gina grilled them for a while but Sam eventually got sick of her and countered her questions back in relation to her and Jonathan. That shut her up pretty fast and a while later Sam and Phil headed home.

The next day at work Sam saw Tony talking on the phone, he was smiling and she could just guess who was on the other end of the line. "What was that?" she asked grinning

"None of your business" Tony replied grinning back

"Oh come on, give me three clues and I bet I can guess the person's name, eye colour, and hair colour." Sam bargained.

"Ok" Tony agreed grinning. "It's a woman, she like her coffee with milk no sugar and she can speak Spanish" he grinned

"Ok, I'm guessing her eye colour is…brown" Sam started with something easy.

"Correct" Tony nodded, "Good guess"

"Thanks, her hair colour is dark blonde" Sam continued.

"Wow, you're good" Tony commented

Sam grinned, she knew this contest wasn't fair, Tony could have no idea they were related because when their parents had divorce Lynn had gone to live with their mother and she had taken her name, Sam had lived with her dad and taken his name. "And her name is…Lynn Bennett" her eyes danced as Tony gasped in shock.

"How the hell?" he asked but Sam just winked and left the room with the parting words, "And she drives a Honda."

Tony tried catching up with her for the rest of the day without success. The closest he came was a brief meeting in the canteen where Sam had told him to just wait and see, all would be revealed in time. Lynn was going to slaughter her for this but it was fun while it lasted. she and Phil still hadn't dropped the top banana with Jo and Phil managed to use it three times in the one conversation. Jo blew her top.

"What is it with you two and that saying, I used it two –three times, and you weren't even there for two of them" she rounded on Sam.

"Mmm – I know, I wasn't _there_" Sam replied grinning.

"Would you like to explain what's going on or do I have to keep guessing?" Jo demanded.

"Keep guessing" Phil replied.

Jo sighed in disgust and stalked out of the room, she was sick to death of that saying and the two DS's double act. It was really getting on her nerves and she could imagine why they kept using it.

Sam and Phil had also started using the word babe to Gary a lot too but he didn't really seem to notice.

Suzie sighed, she was wondering the same thing as Jo, she had only used the saying three times, and Suzie had been there each time. She didn't see the connection but obviously Sam and Phil thought it was a hilariously funny joke. Every time the one said it and the other was in hearing range, they would share this look they burst out laughing. It was harmless but it was clearly getting under Jo's skin.

Sam and Phil arrived at Lynn's on time, Tony wasn't there yet and it appeared he hadn't had a chance to talk to Lynn since his conversation with Sam. Sam decided to get it over with quickly and explained the whole thing to Lynn. Surprisingly she wasn't too mad, she could see the funny side too and they were still laughing when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it" Sam volunteered, "I want to see his face when I answer the door."

"Here, take this" Lynn said handing her a digital camera. "I want to see his reaction too."

"Ok" Sam said and grabbed the camera, sliding off the bench.

Tony stood there, facing the street, when he heard the door open he turned around staring to smile, his eyes widened when he saw Sam standing there instead of Lynn. "Sam?" he asked confused and she took the picture laughing. "What are you doing here?"

"Come in" Sam showing him through the house to the kitchen where Lynn was, Phil was no where in sight and she assumed correctly that he had gone to the bathroom.

Sam stood next to Lynn and wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulders, "Can't you see the family resemblance?" she asked grinning, then showing the photo to Lynn who cracked up.

"You're Lynn's sister?" he asked incredulously, "But, you don't have the same name."

"Mmm –I took my dad's she took mum's" Sam explained.

"Oh, right" Tony looked at the bench where there were five wineglasses. He assumed that one was Lynn's, one was Abi's who had just walked into the room and the one that had nothing missing was his. And one was Sam's, so who's was the other glass? It had to be her husband's. He had to admit that he had been slightly curious as to who he was, now he was going to find out. "So, when do I get to meet your Husband?" he asked trying to sound casual.

"Any minute, I think that sounds like him now," Sam said, going to the hallway and looking down it. She was right, "Hello you" she smiled and leaned out of his sight to kiss someone in the hallway. He saw an arm come out from behind the wall and wrap it around her waist and she circled her arms around the person's neck and kissed them again.

"Are you going to come and _meet_ Lynnie's boyfriend?" Sam asked the person when they parted, he glanced at Lynn, silently asking _are they always like that?_ She nodded back, silently answering_ they're newly married, what do you expect?_

Sam slowly pulled the man out from behind the doorway and Tony gasped, "Phil?" he exclaimed "But…you…he…no…can't…how…?" Tony stammered, not doing very well on the 'finishing sentences' side of a conversation.

"Spit it out Tony" Sam encouraged, she still hadn't let go of Phil's neck, and his hands were still on her waist. Phil moved slightly, so he was next to Sam with one arm around her shoulders the other holding her hand.

"I need a drink" Tony muttered finding it hard to digest this new information. How could Sam and Phil possibly be serious? They couldn't be married, they hated each other, well at least that's how it appeared at work.

Phil grinned as Sam laughed, "It's ok Tony, I know this has got to be a bit of a shock, other peoples reactions were worse believe me." Sam said kindly "Look, let's go and sit down, and we can talk"

They moved into the living room where Maddie was, she was setting up the DVD to watch _Finding Nemo_. "So, umm, how long have you two been together?" Tony asked.

"We got together a couple of months after Hugh's trial" Sam answered. "So almost a year."

"Oh, right. How did…you get together?" He was curious, what could have made Sam change so much?

"Well I was helping support Abi, you've got to realise she was blaming herself for what happened to Sam" Phil started.

"Thanks" Abi said dryly.

"Anyway, Sam and I became friends because of that and…it followed on from there" Phil continued ignoring his stepdaughter.

"Come on, it was a bit more than friends, even at the start. You were both crazy about each other but you were both too stubborn to admit it" Lynn injected.

"What about you two?" Sam asked turning the conversation to safer ground.

"We met at that conference, for better victim relations" Lynn said smiling at Tony.

"Yeah, she asked me what I did, it told her I was a police officer and she asked where. I told her Sunhill and she told me that's where she lived maybe we could catch up sometime and that was that" Tony added grinning at Lynn. "Come on, dirt on your first date." He was beginning to feel more relaxed in their company now, maybe it was the alcohol but he was starting to enjoy himself.

"You don't want to be asking that, he'll top you any day," Sam said laughing.

"Really? Do tell" Tony said intrigued,

"Well, he took me to dinner at L'amour"

"Wow, you really went all out didn't you?" Tony said impressed.

"You haven't heard the best bit yet. Do you remember what happened a couple of weeks after the sky show, on the Friday?" Sam asked grinning

Tony thought about it, that had been his sister's birthday so of course he remembered what happened, everyone had been talking about it at work the next day. "The fireworks?" he answered.

"Yep" Sam answered, smiling at Phil proudly.

"What, you mean Phil organised those?" Tony asked incredulously.

"Yep" Sam answered again, she kissed Phil's lips gently, and he lovingly ran a hand through her hair, tucking it behind her ear. She in turn ran a hand through his hair, he hadn't had it cut since the coma and it was flopping into his face, it looked so adorable. "I have to trim that" she remarked smiling.

Tony was still trying to get over the fact that it had been Phil who organised those fireworks, he had been listening to the women on the relief talk about it for almost a week afterward. "Wow, I mean I knew it was you that sent the rumour round that it was a guy who organised it for his girlfriend but…wow. Ok, I admit defeat, you win."

"Told you so" Sam murmured, she was still gazing lovingly at Phil.

"Oi, snap out of that, dinner's ready," Lynn said in good humour.

Over dinner they kept talking, Sam told everyone proudly that Abi had come top of her class this semester at university. Eventually they returned to watching Finding Nemo. Sam fell asleep in Phil's arms and Maddie fell asleep on Tony, much to his surprise.

Abi went out to the car and opened the doors, Phil was much too drunk to drive so she was going to, Tony carried Maddie out to the car, putting her in the front seat where Abi told him to. Phil carried Sam out to the car and got in the back seat, there he settled her in his arms, she slept better if there was someone with her. He hated to think what she was going to sleep like when he left for his undercover job.

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please reveiw.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

The next day Sam was called to Jack's office, there was a stranger already sitting down talking to him. She got up when Sam entered the room, she was a bit taller than Sam, with dark brown hair, curling eyelashes and glinting eyes. Sam didn't know why but she immediately didn't like her. This was the sort of woman who knew she was hot, and she knew how to get what she wanted. She was ruthless and would do anything to get it, she wasn't afraid of anyone or anything and if she didn't like you, you'd know it. The sort of person men wanted to be around and women either wanted to be, or they wanted to kill her. She didn't make friends, she used people, and if you got in her way, watch out. "Sam, I'd like to introduce you to DS Lisa Dawson" Jack said smiling. Sam shook the woman's hand with a polite smile and a shiver ran up her spine. She was bad news.

"She's going to be helping out here while Phil's on his undercover job."

"So what's she doing here now?" Sam asked, hoping she didn't sound like a whiny kid but knowing she did anyway.

"Well, I thought it'd be better if she got to know the ropes a bit first, you know. And because Neil has decided he needs sometime off, I was thinking you might be interested in the DI position, temporarily, you already have some experience" Jack explained, he didn't like Sam's tone of voice and he could tell there was going to be some tension there later.

"It's an honour to meet you at last, I've heard so much about you. First from Neil and now from Jack. I really look forward to working with you" Lisa said smiling smarmily at Sam. It made her blood boil, her voice sounded like honey, but she bet it tasted like poison.

"Me too" Sam said smiling back. She knew Lisa didn't like her and she knew Lisa knew that she didn't like her.

"Ok, great, well you're acting DI from now, I'll go tell the rest of the team and you can start showing Lisa the ropes." Jack hoped he could stem any arguments between Lisa and Sam in the bud by making them work together, how wrong he was.

"Ok, listen up people. I'd like to introduce you to a new member of our team, Detective Sargent Lisa Dawson. And I'd like to introduce you to Acting DI Samantha Nixon" Jack said. Everyone gathered round to introduce themselves to Lisa, and to congratulate Sam. Especially Phil, he looked very proud of her, and she was happy about that, at least he wasn't jealous because she was higher ranking than he was, she would never pull that on him anyway so it shouldn't be a threat, but sometimes it was.

Lisa was eyeing Phil too, but for very different reasons. He was _hot! _The best looking guy in this bunch anyway. Sauntering over to him, she flaunted her arse, it looked very sexy in the short skirt she was wearing, her mouth was slightly open in a sultry pout.

"Hi" she whispered smoothly, "Lisa, and you are?"

"Phil Hunter" he replied politely, he could sense strong waves of dislike coming off Sam and he trusted her instincts more than his own. He might have a slight doubt but his instincts were also screaming out that she was bad news. He held her hand only for as long as was polite then he excused himself. He had seen Sam leave the room and he followed her.

"Suzie, oh my God, it's great to see you honey" Lisa exclaimed hugging Suzie and air kissing both her cheeks. "So, you going to tell me all the goss, what's his story?"

Suzie shook her head, "Already got your eye on someone, I feel sorry for him" she laughed, Lisa hadn't changed.

"Come on, is he single?" Lisa asked

"Well, I'm not entirely sure, he's a player though."

"So if he's with someone it's not for long then, especially if I'm around" she smiled deviously. "Great, he's definitely my kind of guy."

Jo rolled her eyes in disgust. Some women were worse than men in the use them then lose them department.

Phil found Sam in the canteen, she was getting a coffee and he could tell she was a bit miffed. He suspected she had seen Lisa flirting with him and she was jealous. "Hey, congratulations again" he told her smiling.

"Thanks" she muttered.

"You ok?" he asked concerned, it wasn't like Sam to get like this, she usually gave people a chance, even when she did get bad vibes of them.

"I don't know, am I? I just don't like her but I have no reason not to" Sam complained, he knew she hated judging people without reason.

"If it makes you fell better I don't really like her either, too obvious, I like the chase" Phil remarked. Sam smiled at him, shaking her head. He winked at her, "Though I'm never short of that am I?" he asked cheekily.

"Really? You mean that?' Sam asked touched.

"Of course I mean that, you require a lot of work, I enjoy it immensely."

"Thanks" Sam said. Phil had got a coffee too and they went down to sit next to Honey and Steve.

"Guess who's got the acting DI job?" Phil asked them proudly.

"Sam? Congratulations" Honey said happily.

"Mmm –yeah, congrats" Steve echoed.

"What's congrats for?" Tony asked sitting down.

"I got the acting DI job" Sam told him, she was starting to forget her earlier bad mood.

"That's great" Tony commented, "Lynn'll be happy."

"Yeah, she will" Sam said grinning.

"So, what did you two do when we left? What did you do after I fell asleep?" Sam asked grinning

"We finished watching the movie then your knight in shinning armour carried you out to the car and your daughter drove you home. I had a cup of coffee and we fell asleep on the couch" Tony said.

Honey was following the conversations with avid interest. "So, let me get this straight. Tony knows about you and Phil?" she asked confused.

"Yeah, sorry I didn't tell you, he found out last night, kinda hard to avoid seeing as he's dating my sister" Sam grinned evilly.

"Thanks, I really need my love life broadcast around the station" Tony said sarcastically.

"Oh, so it is a love life then?" Sam teased. He glared at her good-naturedly.

"So who's the new officer in CID? What are they like?" Tony asked curiously.

Sam frowned as her bad mood returned, "Not a good move" Phil remarked.

"Lisa Dawson, she's attractive, a good copper from what I've heard, and she knows what she wants" Sam said grumpily.

"You don't like her?" Honey asked.

"Not really."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure, no actual reason, but she has a bad…vibe" Sam confessed.

"Mmm –I'll have to see this" Honey remarked getting up, Steve followed her and Tony skulled the rest of his coffee and followed them too.

"Am I being stupid?" Sam asked Phil unhappily.

"No, remember what happened with Hugh because you didn't trust your intuition? Go by your instincts Sam, they won't let you down." Phil told her smiling.

"Thanks, you know Phil…when –when we got married I know why we kept us a secret, we wanted time to ourselves…but don't you think it's nearly time we told people –about us?" Sam asked

"Soon, how about when I finish my undercover job?" Phil suggested, he had been thinking about that too and he knew Sam was right, it was _nearly_ time, after the undercover job was finished would be the right time.


	37. Chapter 37

so so so so so sorry it took so long to update. my internet privelages were revoked. evil mean horrid parents. :(

anyways, back now and here's the next chap. only two more to go. woah. i can't believe it. but i hope you like the rest of it, on with the story...

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Chapter 37

Sam cleared up her things from her desk when she got back to the CID office, she had just seen Lisa head down to lunch with an adoring Gary in tow. It seemed even Ken wasn't immune to her charms, he was watching with a jealous glare as they left. "Don't you think two wives is enough?" Sam remarked under her breath, Jo heard her and grinned. Sam smiled a bit feeling happier that it wasn't just her who didn't like Lisa.

She unpacked her stuff in the DI's office and sat down to finish typing up her case-notes. It was interrupted half an hour later when Lisa came back into the office, followed by half the relief. Sam shook her head, even Roger was there, the gall of her. Sam got up knowing if she didn't state her authority then she'd never get it back. "Ok, people, back to work please, I know I'm only standing in but that's no reason to slack off. If you're having trouble come and talk to me, if not get on with it. And shouldn't you be out on patrol?" she directed the last remark at the members of Uniform who were crowded around Lisa's desk.

"Yes Guv" they sighed and left. Sam grimaced and forced herself to walk over to Lisa's desk and smile, "Are you alright, settling in ok?" she asked sweetly.

"Yes Guv, Gary here's showing me the ropes" Lisa smiled at Sam then winked at Gary. Sam smiled back, "Good" she said and turned to walk back to her desk, rolling her eyes at Jo who grinned back at her.

The rest of the day Sam was working on her paperwork, she plugged headphones into the computer and turned the music up loud so she wouldn't have to hear Lisa's annoying laugh every five minutes. When she eventually finished that it was only four o'clock. Still two hours to go. Stuff that, she had earned a break, she get up and went to the door, Phil was sitting over his desk, Lisa was sitting on it talking at him while he was trying to get his work done. She shook her head something would have to be done about her. "Phil, can I see you in my office?" Sam asked loudly, a collective "Oooo" went around the room and Sam glared at everyone, "Enough of that, don't you have your own work to get one with?" Most people knew she wasn't actually that mad, they could see the twinkle in her eye, that was just Sam's way. But not Lisa.

"Is she always like that?" she asked Suzie once Phil had gotten up.

"Like what?" Suzie enquired mildly.

"Like she had a pine cone up her arse?" Lisa said, Suzie raised her eyebrow at the graphical description, "No, she's really good actually, gets results" she answered and turned back to her work.

"Working or gossiping DS Dawson?" Sam asked raising her eyebrow in a challenge. Lisa didn't say anything, instead turning back to her desk. That was more like it. Sam held the door open for Phil then closed it behind her.

"Thankyou, you saved me again, I swear, one more minute of that…" Phil let the threat hang in the air.

Sam smiled, "Yeah, you looked like you needed rescuing" she commented, "And look, now there's no danger of being interrupted, no more briefing rooms" she grinned.

"Mmm –I like the sound of that." Phil murmured and he slid his arms around Sam's waist, leaning in for a kiss. Sam wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss.

"God, I'm going to miss you" she whispered, she hadn't been able to get his undercover job off her mind since he first mentioned it.

"Don't worry about it, I'll look after myself, and they've decided that letting me go alone is too dangerous, I'm going to have Debbie watching my back."

"Debbie, that makes me feel a hell of a lot better," Sam said sarcastically. "What's your cover story?"

"The people we're trying to get have just moved from up north, I'm coming back from visiting my sister and I brought her with me. You remember Garth Heywood?"

"Of course."

"Well then you know Operation Mercury nicked him a few weeks back. We've got enough to put him away for a long time. The great thing about him is not many people know what he looks like or much about him and those that do are behind bars…thanks again to Operation Mercury. So I'm going to pretend to be him, Debbie is my sister" he explained.

"Your sister?" Sam asked dubiously.

"Yeah, they suggested girlfriend but I didn't think you'd be too happy about that, to be honest I wouldn't be either so I suggested sister –they refined that to half sister."

"Sounds air tight, in theory" Sam muttered.

Phil knew she was worried and he hugged her tightly, "I'll be fine, I promise. If you really want I can pull out and they can find someone else" he suggested.

"No, no, I know you want to do this" Sam shook her head and hugged him back, kissing him softly. He deepened the kiss glad she understood.

Three days later, Sam and Phil had breakfast together for the last time. Phil was going undercover that day and Sam was already missing him. The drove to the station together talking non-stop. It was going to be a month before they saw each other again and neither knew how they would bear it. "Sam, I just want to thank you for letting me do this ok, I'm going to miss you so much, more than you can imagine. I just wanted to let you know I'm not doing this lightly, leaving you" Phil told her seriously as they said their goodbyes in her office.

"I know, and I want you to be careful ok, watch them all the time and use those profiling tricks I taught you, talk to them and learn as much as you can. Make them your friend. I love you" Sam told him, she had only let go of him in the car and on their walk up here.

"I love you too" Phil told her kissing her tenderly. He looked into her eyes and used his thumbs to wipe away the tears. "Hey, that's not the Sam Nixon I know. You're supposed to be strong, nothings allowed to rattle you" he told her hoping it would cheer her up.

She laughed a little and answered, "That's because I'm not Sam Nixon, I'm Sam Hunter now aren't I?"

"Seriously?" he asked, he hadn't even considered her changing her name for him.

"Yep, I even put in an application for a new warrant card, DS Samantha Hunter" Sam told him, she had been going to keep it a secret but now seemed a good time to tell him.

"Wow, I don't know what to say…I'm honoured" Phil said, now it was going to be even harder to leave her.

"Hey, you're not allowed to cry, you'll set me off" Sam said, using her thumbs to wipe the tears from his eyes as he had done to her a few moments ago.

"Sorry, I was never good at goodbyes."

"Me neither" Sam admitted. She bowed her head, resting it against his chest, taking in his scent, "I'm going to miss you though."

"I know, just don't go having nightmares on me again, you know if I find out about that I'm going to have to come back."

"I'll try" Sam said, this time she couldn't control her tears and she hugged him tightly, "Just…don't get yourself killed ok?"

"Ok" he agreed hoping that he could keep it. "And if I do, remember you still have Abi, and I changed my will yesterday, everything I have goes to you, including Maddie, and my piano" he told her. Sam laughed, it sounded so daft but it helped relive the tension of the moment.

"You'd better go" she picked his suitcase up from the chair where she'd put it and handed it to him, taking a moment to wipe her eyes. Phil gave her one last kiss, then he opened the door and walked out, glancing back and mouthing "I love you."

Sam watched him say short goodbyes to everyone else. Gary made her smile when he asked Phil "Hey, are you still seeing that babe from the carpark? If not can I have her number?" to which Phil replied, "Yes, I am. And no you can't have her number, ever." He glanced back at Sam who was laughing silently and he winked at her. Lisa sauntered into the office and led Phil out by the hand, he shook her off a few seconds later but Sam still glared at her. Sam shut the door and flopped into her chair, settling down for a good cry. What would she do if he didn't come back? What was happening to her? She never used to be like this.

After ten minutes or so there was a knock on her door, Sam wiped her eyes and sat up straighter calling, "Come in."

"Guv, I have an update on the Walker case" Jo said opening the door.

"Good, is it good news?" Sam asked hopefully, she couldn't handle bad news right now.

"Umm, yeah, in a way" Jo answered then noticed the state her superior was in, "Are you ok?" she asked concerned, shutting the door.

"Fine" Sam answered.

Jo shook her head, she could read Sam like a book and she wasn't _fine_. She crossed the room in two strides and wrapped Sam in a hug. Sam hesitated and returned the hug, allowing the tears to roll down her cheeks again. Jo whispered absolutely nothing in her ear but it seemed to calm her down a bit. Smoothing Sam's hair with her fingers, she guided Sam to the small two seater that Neil had left there, he had used it to kip on when he didn't want to go home for the night. They sat down and she rocked Sam till she stopped crying.

"Well apart from the tears there's another dead give away that you're not _fine_" Jo said a smile playing at the corner of her mouth.

"What?" Sam asked.

"You missed a perfect opportunity to say top banana" Jo told her and just like she'd hoped she got a laugh out of Sam. "What is with the top banana anyway? You ever going to tell me the story behind that?"

Sam smiled and decided to tell her, they had tormented her long enough, "You remember the last time you said it?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I was commenting on some girl Phil was hooking up with in the car park, she was only wearing a night gown, and a revealing one at that" Jo said wondering what this had to do with it.

"Yeah, ok" Sam said blushing slightly from embarrassment _you don't have to rub it in_, she thought. "Well, that was me" she confessed.

Jo stared at her for a moment, hoping she was joking, when it became apparent she wasn't a deep red colour rose up her cheeks and she covered her mouth with her hand.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry, I just…ummm…" Jo fumbled for the right words.

"It's ok, really. I'm quite flattered actually" Sam told her trying to reduce her colleague's embarrassment. For some reason this sent Jo into a fit of giggles, her face becoming even redder. When she had calmed down enough to attempt coherent sentences she said, "Well, you are actually incredibly hot."

"Thanks, I think" Sam answered laughing, "But I don't think Juliet would be too happy to hear you say that, you still seeing her?"

"Yes, nice try but you don't get off that easily. Why were _you _kissing _Phil Hunter _outside the station in a nightdress anyway?"

"He was going to be late for work otherwise, I offered to drive him" Sam said matter of factly.

"So he stayed the night at your place then?"

"Well yeah, he does live there" Sam answered, knowing she was going to have to explain everything anyway.

"Wait, you mean Phil's…?"

"My Husband? Yes" Sam answered. Some how it had accidentally gotten leaked to the station about her weekend wedding, but no one really minded much, they were happy for her.

"So that's why you were so upset, you're worried about him" Jo cottoned on.

"Yeah, and I really don't want to be a single mother again, one was hard enough, I can't imagine two."

"Huh?" asked Jo confused.

"Abi and Maddie, Phil's daughter. I'm her legal guardian if anything happens to Phil." Sam explained."I mean I know I'll have help from Lynn –that's my sister--and Tony and Steve and Honey. Hell I'll be better off than last time. But I –last time after Abi was born I slipped off the rails a bit. I don't really remember much of it, I was staying at my mums and I was drunk most of the time. I don't want to go back to that, a complete wreck, it took my dad coming to have a word with me to snap me out of it, the next day I applied to Hendon. But I love Phil so much, if anything happened to him…God it sounds so clichéd but I don't know what I'd do."

Jo was unnerved to say the least by Sam's outburst, she had never seen Sam as the tea and sympathy, let's talk about our feelings type. It was a mark of how much she'd changed, from what Jo could see, for the better.

"Cut the bullshit, Sam, I might not have known you for as long as some of the people out there but I'm pretty good at reading people's nature's. I might not be able to read their feelings for one another but that's different. You might have gone through this once and slipped off the wagon but I'm betting that's because you wanted to. You wanted to feel something over the loss of someone special in your life. If you don't want to fall of the wagon again you won't. That's the sort of person you are. There is –statistically- a ten- percent chance that something might happen to Phil, and of that ten percent only twenty percent of it is fatal. So stop focusing on the measly chance that something _might _happen and focus on that big ninety percent where nothing's going to happen."

It took a moment for what Jo had just said to sink in, Sam had never heard anyone speak to her like that at work, certainly not someone who was ranked lower than her. It took her another moment to realise that Jo was speaking to her as a friend and not as a colleague "Thanks, I needed that."

"Damn, if that hadn't worked I would think I would be justified in slapping you" Jo complained which got a laugh out of Sam. It lightened the atmosphere a lot.

"Well, I think we'd better get back to work, what about that case update DC Masters?" Sam asked.

It took Jo a moment to remember what she was talking about. "Oh, right. The Walker case."

"Yes, that's the one" Sam said sarcastically and Jo grinned, she was back.

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reveiws? please.


	38. Chapter 38

thanks as usual to all those who reveiwed. sorry if there was a mix up with reveiw replies, thats what you get for having two damn stories on the go. god it gets confusing.

anyway, there will be two more chapters after this one, so almost almost finished. do hope you enjoy this chapter, and --in advance--can i jsut put in a request that you _dont_ kill me.

anyways, on with the story. enjoy. XD

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Chapter 38

The next few weeks were almost unbearable, Sam mostly hid in her office when she wasn't supervising her officer's work, walking around the office every now and then. Mostly when Lisa wasn't there, she had decided that she and Phil were soulmates and she continually boasted about the _magical_ night they had spent together the night before he left for his undercover operation. Never mind that Phil had spent that night at home with her, his wife and his daughter and stepdaughter. Sam was glad that Jo wasn't having a bar of it and that she took every opportunity to take Lisa down a peg. Sam's favourite moment was when Jo asked what Phil's tat looked like.

"What tat?" Lisa asked.

"You know, the one in his hip" Jo told her. Every one just looked at her blankly because they knew Jo was gay. Sam was the first to pt the dots together, but to be fair no one else had all the information. "Oh, did Juliet tell you then?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Yep, and she should know, she saw it more than a few times." Jo answered.

"Juliet?" Suzie asked interested.

"She used to work here, Juliet Becker. She and Phil had a brief…liaison when she was here" Sam explained.

"Oh, I guess I didn't notice it, too preoccupied with the rest of him" Lisa saved her story at the last minute. Sam snorted, it was kinda hard to miss, no matter what you were doing. Jo heard her and raised her eyebrows, muttering in her ear she asked, "What does it look like anyway?"

"It's a leopard cub, he got it while travelling round as a student."

"In Africa?"

"No, Wales."

"Why a leopard?"

"He thought it was cute" Sam replied grinning, she loved that tattoo, leopards happened to be her favourite animal too. She had loved them ever since she was a kid and she had a leopard tattoo too.

"What?" Jo asked curious. They had walked into Sam's office by this time and Sam cheekily turned around and pulled up the back of her top to show Jo her tattoo.

"That is so cute, when did you have that done?" Jo asked, wondering if Sam had got it done because Phil had one. She didn't think so.

"Umm, about three years before Abi was born" Sam answered, "I always loved leopards and as soon as I turned sixteen I went out and got a tattoo of one."

"That would make you…thirty-eight, wow, hope you don't mind me saying so but you look a lot older than that."

"No –I don't mind. It's true, I went through a lot when I was younger and it shows, a lot more than I'd like it to." Sam admitted, "It wasn't just the whole Glen thing, but now I'm babbling, that's what comes from not having anyone older than five to talk to at home."

"What about Abi?"

"She's going to collage up North, wants to find her own way without interference from me, she wont even tell me what course she's taking. But she's happy enough to meddle round in my life. At least she comes home for weekends" Sam conceded.

"Oh, sorry about that, maybe you should come over to mine for coffee or something" Jo suggested.

"As long as you don't mind Maddie coming, and watching _Finding Nemo_, I'd love to" Sam agreed.

"Course I don't mind, how about tomorrow night, I'm babysitting for my niece anyway, she's six, how old's Maddie?"

"She's five, almost six" Sam replied smiling. This sounded like a perfect way to relax after an exhausting week.

"See you at seven then, we'll upgrade to dinner" Jo told her scribbling down the address.

"See you then" Sam agreed.

"Guv, I wanted a word" Lisa came into the office.

"Yes?" Sam asked, Jo excused herself and closed the door.

"It's the Durchan case, you pulled all the funding and the surveillance on it and I was just trying to chase up yesterdays tapes. What the hell did you do that for, this is an important case and we need everything we can get to nail this guy" Lisa said, she was obviously annoyed.

Sam sighed, "Well firstly I pulled the surveillance because it was no longer needed, if you'd read the case notes properly you'd know that. Secondly I don't appreciate being spoken to like that, and thirdly, if you weren't so busy gossiping about your non-existent relationship with Phil Hunter then you'd know that we already arrested Durchan and he's in custody for sentencing. He confessed to everything" Sam explained, barely getting her frustration under control. "So _DS_ Dawson, if you would like me to waste valuable resources on so that you know every time the guy scratches his arse, by all means, take it up with the DCI. In fact, let's go see him right now" Sam suggested.

Lisa tried to apologise and explain that there had been a mix up, Suzie had just given her the wrong information, but Sam wasn't listening. She stalked to the door and held it open glaring at Lisa to argue with her. She didn't, instead following her to the DCI's office.

"Guv, I was wondering what you thought about giving DS Dawson some time off, she seems way too distracted from her work" Sam suggested.

"Sam" Jack said warningly.

"For God's sake Jack, she just come into my office asking why I pulled surveillance on this guy she was tailing when he'd been behind bars for more than twenty-four hours. I don't know about you but I don't think surveillance is going to help us get a conviction when he's already confessed."

"I know Sam, Lisa, I want you to focus on your work instead of gossiping, consider this a warning. Sam a word in private."

After Lisa had left, smirking at Sam on her way out, Sam turned to glare at Jack, "What the hell was that about?" she demanded.

"I suppose I should explain, you know all the leaks that have come out of Sunhill recently? all the corrupt coppers that have come from here, Des Tavener, Don Beech, David Kent, the MET thinks we're giving them a bad name. They sent Lisa over here to look around, get to know people, talk to them, she might look like she's gossiping but she's actually working. She's not even a DS, she's Detective Chief Superintendent Dawson." Jack explained. "And let me warn you Sam, you're in deep here. She already thinks you're hiding something, with all the time you spend in your office I'm not surprised."

"Wait, are you saying she thinks _I'm_ bent, that's what this was all about. She was pissed because I pulled surveillance on this guy and she didn't even stop to check the reason why because she's so convinced I'm _bent_. Just because I don't like her?" Sam asked incredulously.

"That about it, yeah" Jack answered.

Sam was reeling, she had never been accused of anything so horrible before, it hurt.

"So that's why she won't tell me anything about the Heywood case, she thinks I'm going to leak it."

"Pretty much, there is intelligence to suggest that Glen Western may have a hand in it too, which is why you're under more suspicion than most."

"Ian McCarthy maybe, but not Glen, never Glen" Sam told him shaking her head emphatically.

"Face it Sam, he's a killer."

"No he's not, he was but he's changed, I know him better than anyone Guv."

"I'm sure that's what you believe Sam" Jack said shaking his head, then his eyes widened, "How did you know that Heywood was involved? He's behind bars and it wasn't mentioned to anyone outside the briefing room" he asked.

"I must have overheard Debbie and Phil talking" Sam lied.

Jack hesitated, his coppers senses were telling him different things, on the one hand he knew Sam could have nothing to do with leaking information, hell –he was more likely to be bent than she was. But on the other hand how could she have known about Garth Heywood. After a moment he dismissed her, he would sleep on it and decide what to do in the morning.

The next morning Sam arrived a bit early, she wanted to have a word to Jack but he wasn't in. he and Adam had gone to a press release that had been scheduled late last night. A few minutes after she had sat down at her desk there was a call from the front desk. "Guv, Lisa Dawson just rang, she's caught in traffic and she won't be able to make it to her meeting with Phil and Debbie. I rang Jack and he said to send you" Marilyn said.

Sam knew that Jack must have been really harassed to say that, she wasn't allowed near that case and as much as her better judgement told her to send someone else she just couldn't turn down the opportunity to see Phil. "Ok, you got the address?" She copied it down then grabbed her coat and headed out the door.

After pulling up and putting her car in a lock up near the run down flat she was going to meet Phil and Debbie in, she walked up the stairs and entered the flat. There were actually three, she was to go into the one on the far right and crawl through a hole in the wall to the middle one, Debbie and Phil would go into the far left one and crawl through a hole in the wall to the middle one. It was to avoid suspicion if anyone was watching. Sam found the apartment alright and entered with her spare key which she had picked up from the reception before she left. A few minutes latter she heard Phil and Debbie arriving, it took all her self-control not to shout out. She heard them talking but she couldn't make out what they were saying. Then she heard Phil's mobile ring and he stopped in the other flat to answer it, Debbie came through the hole first, "Sam?" she asked, not half believing what she saw. "It's great to see you, you have no idea how annoying that Dawson woman is" she sighed exasperatedly.

"Yeah, you should see her at the station, she's ten times worse" Sam sighed.

Phil finished his phone call and crawled through the hole a few minutes after Debbie. She was talking to "Sam?" his face split into a huge grin and he crossed the room in three strides and wrapped her in a bear hug, lifting her feet off the floor and twirling her around. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, prolonging it for as long as possible.

"God I missed you" he whispered in her ear.

"Me too" Sam whispered back.

"Am I missing something?" Debbie asked deeply disturbed by what she was seeing.

"Wow, I knew we were good but I didn't know we were that good" Sam commented smiling. "Phil is my husband" she explained.

"You're kidding!" Debbie commented, she had suspected something might be going on but that had been quashed when she heard about Sam getting married, she had never though she would get in that deep with Phil.

"Jo's reaction was so much better" Sam moaned.

"You told her?"

"Yeah, she walked in on me a few minutes after you left and she asked if I was ok. I said fine and she pointed out that I had missed a perfect opportunity to say top banana, I ended up explaining the top banana thing to her and she figured the rest" Sam answered.

"But what are you doing here anyway?" Debbie asked.

"Lisa's caught in traffic and couldn't make it, I'm filling in" Sam answered.

"Oh, right. Well here's some photo's we took and some audio tapes we recorded, there's documents in there detailing everything you need to know."

"Thanks" Sam smiled. Phil gave Sam one last kiss goodbye then he and Debbie left. Sam waited a while in case some one was watching the two of them then she left.

Sam arrived back at Sunhill at lunchtime, there was a note on her desk saying that Jack had been called away to a family emergency. Adam was attempting to deal with the press so Sam was pretty much left to her own devices for the rest of the day. She left the photos and tapes on Jack's desk with a note explaining what had happened. That night she went over to Jo's for dinner, and she ended up falling asleep on the sofa and staying the night. She and Juliet had a lot of catching up to do and she enquired after Debbie, what she was doing…even though she'd already heard it from Jo.

The next morning Sam arrived at the station and went straight up to Jack's office to check he had gotten the tapes. "You have some nerve showing you face in here" Lisa spat at her as she walked through the door, she was already there with Jack.

"What?" Sam asked confused.

"Calm down Lisa, let me deal with this." Jack said and turned to Sam with a grave face. "Sam, I told you what was going on and you knew what was at stake but you still went to meet Phil and Debbie. I'm very disappointed in you and you give me no chance but to suspend you from active duty."

"What? Jack you can't do this to me. You know I'm not bent" Sam yelled furious.

"Well, if you can offer a reasonable explanation as to how you knew Heywood was involved and why there is one photo missing from this envelope then I'll reconsider, until then my hands are tied" Jack replied.

"There's a photo missing?" Sam asked.

"Yes, Phil filled out a form saying there were thirty but there's only twenty-nine."

"Maybe he miscounted" Sam suggested desperately.

"Yeah, and i'm a monkey's uncle" Lisa scoffed.

Sam took a deep breath to clam her nerves, exploding wouldn't do any good. "I'll just go and get my stuff then" she said quietly and stalked out.

"You shouldn't have said that, she's a good officer and a great person, no matter how this appears" Jack told Lisa quietly after the door had slammed shut. Lisa sighed, what was it with this station? Everyone loved Samantha bloody Nixon. She was respected by CID and the relief, she had friends among all of them, and even Phil was ignoring her, one of the only men in the station. It wasn't fair, according to the gossips he had even had a thing for Sam at one stage, why couldn't he have something for her?

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are we all feeling sorry for poor little lisa now?? believe me, it's get worse...hehehehehehe. reveiws? please? you know you want to.


	39. Chapter 39

here's another chapter folks. :) hope you enjoy it. XD

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Chapter 39

Sam had gathered her things and was just putting her coat on when Honey, Tony and Steve came through the door.

"Happy birthday" they said in unison. Tony was holding a huge bunch of flowers.

"How did you know?" Sam asked cracking a small smile.

"These arrived by messenger at the front office, they're from Phil" Tony replied handing the lilies to Sam. Sam perked up and took the card from amidst the bundle of flowers. She pulled the card out of the envelope and a few photo's fell out too. She put them face down on her desk and turned her attention to the card.

_Sam_

_Hope you have a very happy birthday, God knows, and I know, you deserve it. I'm missing you a lot and seeing you yesterday cheered me up a lot, best wishes and all that. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but Debbie and I took these pictures yesterday, I thought it was best to get them to someone I trust as soon as possible. I need you to sit on them in case anything happens to me, but I don't want you showing anyone yet, I don't want to spook them. Thankyou. _

_All my love, Phil._

Sam stared daggers at the top two photos, Lisa was in the first one, hugging a tall, blonde guy. In the second one, the blonde guy was shaking hands with Max Reynard, one of the top players in the drug ring that Phil was trying to bring down. There were other photo's too, each one with another key member of the gang. Sam's face burned with fury, Lisa was the bent copper but she couldn't prove it, she had to respect Phil's wishes, God this was so infuriating. But she had to trust him, he had his reasons even if they weren't entirely clear. What was a relationship without trust?

"What is it?" Steve asked curious.

"Nothing" Sam muttered, "Absolutely nothing, Tony, can you carry those down to my car please, my hands are full" Sam asked sighing.

"Where are you going?"

"Home –I've been suspended pending investigation. Lisa seems to have managed to convince Jack I'm bent." Sam answered curtly.

"What? That's absurd" Jo injected.

"Mmm –well, it'll all work out in the end" Sam muttered.

"Have you told them about you and Phil?" Steve asked, he had heard the rumour going round that Sam was passing information to the drug rink and endangering Phil and Debbie.

"No, I promised not to, not until he got back. He wanted to tell everyone together."

"Surely he'd understand under the circumstances," Jo asked.

"That doesn't even come into it, I trust him and he trusts me, it doesn't matter what happens I'm going to keep my promise." Sam declared adamantly. She stalked out the door and Tony followed. This was so stupid, how could any one think she was bent?

Steve and Honey cornered Tony in the canteen later, "Did she say anything else to you"

"No, nothing"

"I vote we should go and ask Jack about it, he can't honestly believe that Sam's bent." Honey suggested.

"I agree" Jo interrupted.

Tony nodded and walked up to Jack's office followed by Jo.

"Can I help you?" Jack asked.

"We…erm I…that is there's a group of us wanting to know why Sam got suspended" he said awkwardly. Jack had been touchy since Debbie had gone undercover.

"Because I had to…not that it's any of your business." Jack answered miffed.

"You can't really believe she's bent though."

"I don't know what to think, but there is substantial evidence to suggest so"

"Don't give me that bull crap" Jo interrupted opening the door. "I don't care about the evidence, what is your gut telling you?"

"No, I don't really believe it, who else is in this little group of yours?"

"Honey, Steve, Gina, Neil and Andrea" Tony replied naming all the people that knew about Sam and Phil's relationship.

"How can you possibly speak for Andrea Neil and Gina? They're all on leave." Jack pointed out.

"Let's just say that we all know that Sam has more reasons than most to want this undercover operation to go smoothly" Jo replied and she stalked out of Jack's office with Tony in tow.

The next morning Tony was called to a mysterious briefing. "I'm afraid to report that Phil and Debbie's operation had been compromised. Debbie was taken to Saint Hughes this morning with extensive injuries, there was a note with her saying _you're lucky she's a woman, your other pig won't be so lucky. _We assume this means that they are intending to kill Phil Hunter, this means it is imperative we find him as soon as possible. There was a knock on the door and Jack glared at it as Marylin pushed it open. "Mrs Hollis, would you kindly wait until I have finished my briefing before you interrupt me" Jack snapped. He was worried about Phil, he didn't want to lose another officer and he was afraid that if he didn't find Phil, Sam would be blamed for this entire mess and they wouldn't have the evidence to refute it.

"Sorry Sir, but this was just delivered to the front office by bike messenger. He said to give it to you immediately as it was very urgent" Marylin replied huffily, she got no respect.

"Thank you" Jack conceded and took the envelope. He tore it open and a polaroid fell out. He stared at an image of Phil, he had been badly beaten but it looked like superficial bruising, so far. There was also a note with it:

_**He wanted to express some last words**_ a messy scrawl said. Then in Phil's hand writing:

_I'm sorry, about the fair.__ Cottage streamers in rides lights am I fairy floss._

_Five fireworks Em, animals of colours west hangovers._

_Lake with a fairy boat is near._

_Remember forever, I love it, and you_

_**He must have gotten a good beating, maybe you can make some sense of this**_ the messy scrawl taunted at the bottom.

Jack frowned, what on earth did that mean? Maybe it was a code, but if Phil used a code he would have to have some hope of some one knowing the key.

"What is it Guv?" Jo asked

"They sent us a note, Phil's last words apparently, though they are odd ones"

"What does it say?" Jo asked. Jack read out the note and everyone frowned. Tony wondered if Sam was meant to see this, she knew Phil better than anyone else and he didn't know about her suspension. "Has anyone told Sam?" he asked.

"No, why on earth would we do that and risk any chance we have of finding Phil Hunter alive?" Lisa spat.

"What do you mean by that? Sam's probably the only person I know who could crack that code."

"And why would that be? You do realise it's probably down to her that we're in this mess" Lisa shouted. Why couldn't these cretins see that she was trying to help them? But _no_ they had to keep turning back to Sam. What the hell was wrong with them?

"That's bullshit and you know it, if you had any decency as a copper or as a person, you'd actually get to know her before passing that sort of judgement. And if you did get to know her, you'd know that that is an absurd accusation and there could be no truth in it what so ever." Jo yelled infuriated.

"Jo, Tony, I want no more arguments from anyone. The fact that you are banned from passing any of this information onto anyone, especially Sam, is not up for discussion. This is wasting precious time that we could be using to find Phil. Suzie I want you to work on the codes with Terry, Jo and Ramani, I want you two to get down to the hospital and question Debbie as soon as she's up to it. The others already have things to do, get on with it" Jack demanded.

Tony was tossing up what to do, on one hand he could save someone's life and lose his job, on the other he could keep his job and someone could die. Screw the job, he knew Sam would never forgive him if Phil died, neither would Lynn. He hurried round the corner to the PC locker room and checked the coast was clear then he took out his mobile and dialled Sam's number.

"Hello?" Sam answered

"Sam, it's Tony. I thought you should know, Phil and Debbie's covers been blown. Debbie's in hospital and Phil's still missing. There was a note delivered it seems to be in some sort of code and I think you should look at it. This is an off the record conversation though, I've been forbidden to talk to you" Tony gabbled quickly, he didn't have much time.

"Thank you for letting me know, Tony. Would it be too much to ask for you to let me into the station?" Sam asked desperately.

"No, not at all, I'm already going to be in strife, best to go out with a bang." Tony chuckled.

"Thank you, so much. I wont forget this" Sam assured him gratefully.

"Anytime" Tony replied and hung up.

Sam arrived at the station a few minutes later, she stalked through the double doors and straight up to Jack's office where he and Lisa were talking.

"Where's the note Jack?" she demanded.

"What the hell are you doing here, you know you're not allowed on police premises while you're suspended." Lisa screamed.

"Where's the note?" Sam demanded again in a level voice.

"How do you even know about it?" Lisa demanded, "Did your little kidnapper friends tell you so you could pretend to be all sad and give us a false lead?"

"Where's the note?" Sam asked, still in a level voice.

Jack sighed and handed the note over, he wanted Sam to have a look at it anyway, she seemed to have developed a sort of bond with Phil because of his relationship with her daughter and he wanted to know if she could make head or tail of it.

"You just gave it to her, just like that? I could have your badge for this" Lisa shouted enraged.

"I don't care if you take my badge, I want my officer back in one piece" Jack replied calmly.

Sam was reading the note intently and she turned to Jack, "Can I use this?" she asked indicating the whiteboard. He nodded and she picked up the marker copying out the note onto the board. All except the beginning so it looked like this:

_Cottage streamers in rides lights am I fairy floss._

_Five fireworks Em, animals of colours west hangovers_

_Lake with a fairy boat is near_

_Remember forever, I love it, and you_

Then she began crossing out apparently random words and then rearranging the words so it eventually made sense. It read:

_I am in cottage. West of M5. Near a lake. You remember. _

"How did you do that?" he asked amazed.

"You obviously have never read _Deltora Quest_" Sam replied dryly. "It's a book, or series. It has a lot of codes in it" that was obviously all the explanation he was going to get.

"Do you know where he means?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes, here" Sam indicated a place on the map. She and Phil had gone there a few times for a picnic, there was a cottage there that could be hired out and it was surrounded be pine trees with a lake nearby.

"Lets roll" Jack smiled happily.

"You aren't seriously going to trust her are you, she probably just twisted it to make it seem like he was there." Lisa tried exasperatedly to make Jack see what was in front of his face.

"That's it Lisa, I've had enough of your continuous complaints, I'm standing you down from this investigation, Sam you are now in charge and obviously reinstated to active duty."

"Thankyou for backing me on this Jack, but I think Lisa should come too" Sam smiled sweetly at Lisa, "Just so I con prove my point."

"Fine, I'll just get my bag."

"No, you can leave that here, I want you to stick right by my side so you know if I do anything remotely dodgy" Sam maintained.

"That's a great idea, Lisa, I order you to stick to Sam like glue. Super glue." Jack chuckled.

"Can _we _go and get my bag then, I need my phone."

"Nope" Sam answered cheerfully, this was more like it. Sam kicked into gear walking out the office and ordering Jo to call SO19, Tony to round up some more uniformed officers, not including Honey and Steve because they were too close to the victim. She should probably have included herself in that because she was closer than either of them but she wasn't about to do that, not in a million years. Fifteen minutes later they were on the road, Jack was impressed he had never seen anyone work so fast, and all by the book too. Sam's car reached the designated clearing first, it was close to the house but out of sight so they didn't spook them and give them time to get away. Sam and Lisa moved silently through the trees trying to get a better view of the house. The silence was tense and each woman was trying to gauge whether they were about to be ambushed. Sam unpacked their polaroid camera from her bag and attached a special zoom lens to it. She zoomed in on the window and let out a gasp, she could see Phil, his hands were tied above his head, his shirt had been ripped open and he had a knife to his throat. Quickly she snapped a picture and handed it to Lisa. When the ink had dried and she could see it was Phil handed the photo onto Jack.

"See, I was right." Sam muttered. Turning to Lisa she miled, "So, monkey's uncle...anything to say for yourself?"

Surprisingly, Lisa smiled at Sam. "I'm sorry, I guess I should explain. My husband was in the force, he was killed because of information leaked by a bent police officer."

Sam, was shocked, this was the last thing she had expected. Jack had moved away to talk to the SO19 Sargent. Sam was confused, she couldn't make head nor tail of this woman. At first she had thought she was an outright bitch, but now she wasn't so sure. It had been easier when she was a bitch. "Ok, if you're so good, how can you explain these?" Sam asked, producing the photo's Phil had sent her.

Lisa stared at them, shock written all over her face. It was clear to Sam that Lisa had nothing to do with it but she still had a few things to clear up.

"Who's the guy in the photo with you?" Sam asked

"He's my cousin. God, I can't explain this…it's…" Lisa was looking decidedly miserable.

"Ok, I believe you had nothing to do with it, but I hope you realise I didn't either"

"Of course" Lisa replied, "Now I know why he wanted to come and stay with me, I even caught him fiddling with my mobile and it never twigged."

"Well of course not, he's family after all" Sam relented. "Look, I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot, that's probably as much my fault as it was yours, let's say we start again, yeah?" Sam offered.

"Sure, that'd be great" Lisa replied, extending her hand to shake on it. She noticed Sam's ring and gasped, "Wow, that is so gorgeous, is that your engagement ring?" she asked.

"Yeah, it is gorgeous" Sam agreed smiling.

"I hope Phil's ok…I really like him you know. He reminds me a lot of my late husband, sweet, kind… he's the first guy I've met in a long time that seems decent, I mean underneath. He might play mean, but I think I can read him" Lisa answered feeling much more comfortable talking to Sam than she had ever though possible.

_Well it might interest you to now that he's married then, to me._ Sam thought, but she didn't say it, not yet. She took another look through the camera's lens and gasped. "Guv, I think they're going to torch the place," she yelled to Jack.

He came over to look through the camera lens, the men were piling up petrol cans around Phil. Another was pouring it over the floor.

"While they're inside, they're mad" he growled.

Sam had a sudden brainwave, "Guv, on the original plans there was a wine cellar, it ran out behind the back of the house a dozen feet or so. Anyway, it ran just near an old mine, I think they might have an escape route.

"Why isn't it on the current plan?" Jack shouted.

"Because it was supposed to be filled in." Sam said, there was a tremble of fear in her voice, she couldn't lose Phil now, not after all they'd been through.

"Shit" Jack swore and turned to order the SO19 officers to move in. Suddenly there was a massive explosion, the ground trembled and Sam felt her heart snap. Turning to see the cottage, all she could see were flames and smoke.

* * *

please, don't kill me. and i'd appreciate a reveiw too, please ;)


	40. Chapter 40

and the LAST chapter. i'd like to thanks all my reveiwers, without you guys i probably would have just cut my losses and deleted the story--you may have realised i kinda jumped ship. sorry. anyway, i finished this story for you guys so i hope you enjoyed it and thanks for the support. if it wasn't for you i would not have been able to improve my writing as much as i have, you're constructive critisism has helped immensely...and of course just the experience i've gained from writing this story, so thank you very very much.

and on with the story...

* * *

Chapter 40

Previously: _"Shit" Jack swore and turned to order the SO19 officers to move in. Suddenly there was a massive explosion, the ground trembled and Sam felt her heart snap. Turning to see the cottage, all she could see were flames and smoke._

"PHIL!" she screamed, the words sounded so distant to her. All she could hear was the thudding in her ears. She couldn't hear anyone else and wasn't aware of them telling her to stay back. She rushed forward towards the house, tears were streaming down her face but she didn't notice them. Coughing because of the smoke she tried to see, but she couldn't even see her hand, let alone where she was going. She heard a cough and turned towards it. There was a second explosion and Sam was thrown backwards. She felt a sharp pain in her thigh and it brought her back to the real world. Sounds and smells came crashing into her senses, she could hear the sound of yelling, of men screaming. She could smell the scent of burning wood, and charred flesh. She wanted to hurl but she couldn't, not until she found Phil. If he was going to die she needed to be by his side. Painfully she got to her feet, still reeling form all the noise, she could hear people shouting her name, wanting her to come back, but she pressed on.

"Sam" came the muffled croak.

"Phil" she called, hopefully.

"Sam" he called again. She turned in the direction of his voice and finally found him, he was wedged under a beam, presumably from the house.

"Hey baby, it's ok, I'm here" she whispered. More tears streamed down her face. She grabbed at the beam and tried to lift it to no avail. Phil grunted in pain and Sam saw that the other end of the beam was being licked with flames, they were touching his leg. She pulled his leg out from underneath it, ignoring the searing pain on her hands. She furiously dug out the soil from underneath him, hoping to free him. Another pair of hands joined in the scrabbling and Sam looked up to see Lisa. "What you did was really stupid you know. Yet somehow…incredibly brave" she smiled at Sam and Sam smiled back then turned her attention to digging. A few precious minutes later they were able to drag Phil free of the beam. He was barely conscious and Sam and Lisa could hardly see, their eyes were streaming from the smoke and they had to keep coughing. Sam swung one of Phil's arms around her shoulders and Lisa swung the other over hers, between them they supported Phil and stumbled blindly in what they hoped was the right direction. The flames battered them making their eyes stream more and they turned back.

"Which way?" Lisa asked hoarsely, her throat was raw from the smoke.

"Ummm –that way I think" Sam said her voice equally hoarse. They stumbled on then Sam heard voices, yelling. She turned their course in the right direction and a few moments later she could make out the cars, the shape of an ambulance. The paramedics took Phil from them and lay him down on a stretcher. Sam bent over double, coughing, her eyes were still streaming and her lungs felt as if they were on fire. Jack came hurrying up, he looked like he had aged ten years.

"Sam, what the HELL do you think you were doing? You could have been killed!" he bellowed.

Sam tried to answer but the words wouldn't come. "Sir, if you could let us do our jobs, these women risked their lives to save this man and because of that they have inhaled a great deal of smoke, we need to get them to the hospital too" the paramedic said curtly. He obviously didn't approve of Jack's method though Sam knew it was only concern and relief coming through. _He obviously doesn't have kids_ she thought grinning and that brought on a fresh bout of coughs. Allowing the paramedic to lead her and Lisa to the ambulance he put oxygen masks over their faces and told them to calm down and take deep breaths.

Sam took a moment to check what sort of condition Phil was in he looked a lot better than he had before, the colour was returning to his skin, his lips weren't looking so grey either. But she was still worried, he was still unconscious, "Is he going to be ok?" she asked the paramedic nervously, dreading his response.

"It's too early to say, though the outlook is good and that's pretty much down to you" he replied giving her a smile.

"Lisa helped too" Sam mumbled embarrassed.

"No Sam, credit where credits due, I wouldn't have gone towards that fire looking for him if you hadn't" Lisa told her seriously.

"Well I couldn't just let him burn, what would I tell Maddie?" Sam asked smiling awkwardly.

"Who's Maddie?" Lisa asked frowning.

"You don't know?" Sam asked curious. Lisa shook her head. "Maddie is Phil's daughter."

"He has a daughter?" Lisa asked incredulously, her face dropped.

"What's wrong?"

"I really liked him, but I have this rule, no guy with baggage, no kids. I got involved with a guy who had kids once and I adored them, and when we split, I missed the kids a lot and they missed me, it wasn't fair on them because they didn't ask for it." Lisa explained.

Sam was unsure of what to say, "No exceptions to the rule?" she enquired.

"No" Lisa shook her head emphatically.

"Well, that's probably just as well" Sam told her gently.

"Why?" Lisa enquired curiously.

"Because" a voice croaked, it was Phil. "I'm already married."

"You're ok" Sam sighed with relief, moving so Phil could see her better. He cracked a smile at her, his lips cracked a bled a little. Sam smiled back and got out a hanky, "Spit" she told him. He complied and she wiped it away, tears of joy in her eyes.

"You are? –But everyone at the nick, they said you got divorced."

"I did, I re-married" Phil replied. "It wasn't exactly public news at the time, not many people at the nick know."

"Stop talking, you should rest" the paramedic told Phil severely.

When Sam and Lisa were discharged, after sitting doing nothing for thirty minutes with an oxygen mask over their faces, they decided to go and visit Debbie. Lisa said hi first, Sam stood back unsure of what to do. Debbie sat up and noticed Sam in the corner, "Not going to say hello?" she asked trying to smile, unfortunately in side of her face was badly bruised so it became more of a grimace.

"Hey, how you doing?" Sam asked coming over.

"Not too badly, and just so you know, I don't think you're mad at me because I got off with a beating and they tried to kill Phil but if you are please tell me" Debbie croaked.

Sam smiled properly this time, "Since when were you an expert at reading people?" she asked. She had indeed been wondering if Debbie was going to be stand-offish with her because she thought that Sam would hate her because she got off with a beating and Phil was going to get much worse.

After a few minutes Sam said good bye to Debbie and went to check on Phil, leaving her to be entertained by Lisa. The doctor smiled as he saw her walking toward him, "Mrs Hunter, I was wondering where you got to. Your husband is going to be fine, he wasn't suffering from much, other than a few bruises and smoke inhalation and some minor burns. He can go home in an hour or so, as long as he stays home for a few days, or at least rests, no unnecessary activity, and there's a salve that needs to be applied to his burns, and yours."

Sam laughed from relief, "Thank you, you have no idea how great that sounds."

An hour later Sam and Phil were talking to the doctor as he gave last instructions for Phil's care, and Sam's.

"Am I allowed to go for a celebratory drink?" Phil joked, the doctor regarded him curiously, "Yes, that's a good idea actually, no more than three or four drinks though, and be home by ten."

"Are you sure, I was just joking" Phil asked sunned.

"Yes, the alcohol would actually help clear out your lungs" the doctor replied smiling.

"That's great" Sam grinned, she reached up and wrapped her arms around Phil's neck, kissing him gently.

They headed out to the waiting room where Sam knew a few members of Sunhill were waiting for news on Phil's condition, neither of them had their car here so they had to get a lift with someone. Sam had given her keys to Jack when she had left the incident scene. Jack, Ken, Lisa, Tony, Adam, Roger, Yvonne, Sheelagh, June, Jim, Smithy, Ramani, Terry, Amber, Jo, and Lance were waiting, when they saw Phil, their faces split into wide grins.

"You up for a drink?" Roger asked slapping him on the back.

"Is the pope catholic?" Phil laughed.

"I've got room in my car" Lisa offered, Sam could sense she wanted to talk to Phil, he looked at Sam and she nodded discretely.

"Sam, I'll give you a lift in your car" Jo offered.

"Thanks" Sam accepted.

Sam arrived at the pub first and was looking for a sign of Phil, he wasn't there yet so she ordered two drinks and saved him a seat. He walked into the bar a few minutes later, his eyes sought Sam out and they silently asked, _do you want to tell them now?_ Sam smiled and nodded. Phil walked over to her and she got up, dimly she was aware of cheering for Phil, because he survived the explosion. The cheers died down as they sensed something was different. Phil smiled at Sam and tipped her chin up with his finger, kissing her lightly on the lips, he was about to pull away when Sam threw her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. She probed her tongue into his mouth, deeper and deeper, she could hear wolf whistles now. Then Phil did something really surprising, he swung her around then dipped her down. Sam pulled her mouth away and grinned at him, he grinned back and kissed her again, more passionately. Swinging her back up again he took a breath, everyone from Sunhill was staring at them as if they'd lost their minds. That was when Sam realised that it was the other people in the bar who were screaming and yelling. She giggled blushing, "Oh, for those who haven't been properly been introduced to him, this in my husband." She said, raising her voice slightly, her hand was still entwined with Phil's. "And I'd like to propose a toast. To moving on". Sam raised her glass of apple juice up then took a large sip. "To moving on" everyone echoed and they sipped their glasses. Sam turned back to Phil and whispered in his ear "And I have a surprise for you."

"What?" he asked grinning.

"I'm pregnant" Sam whispered back.

* * *

THE END. _FINALLY! _as awlways, please please please review.

XX Chez


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